


It's Not Incest...Right?

by SummonerAmalthea



Series: Other Husbando Fanfics [3]
Category: Fire Emblem Heroes, Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Awkward Romance, Boys In Love, Declarations Of Love, Drama & Romance, F/M, Falling In Love, Female Character of Color, Fire Emblem Heroes - Freeform, Forbidden Love, Friendship/Love, Interracial Relationship, Love Confessions, Love Triangles, Mild Sexual Content, Multi, Older Woman/Younger Man, Pseudo-Incest, Romance, Sexual Content, Sexual Tension, Uncertainty, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-04
Updated: 2018-12-24
Packaged: 2019-03-27 01:30:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 22,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13870215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SummonerAmalthea/pseuds/SummonerAmalthea
Summary: Amalthea loves Ryoma, but there's something about his son, Shiro...Shiro is enjoying being a member of the Order of Heroes alongside his father, but he has his eye on the Summoner, who just happens to be his father's lover...What should they do?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, first of all, I still haven't played any of the Fates games, but I've seen enough through videos to get the idea. Okay, so while playing FEH, I finally managed to summon Shiro, Ryoma's son. Now for those who have played Fates, if you marry Ryoma, Shiro is born, so people call Shiro their son. Well, I'm S ranked with Ryoma in FEH, so I tried to think of Shiro as my son, but for some reason, Shiro managed to awaken my inner cougar. Here's the way I see it: In Fates, you're technically Corrin, while in FEH, you're YOU. Therefore, whoever your child was in Fates was still technically Corrin's child, not yours.
> 
> Anyway, because I felt so awkward about it, I said I would probably write a fanfic to get it out of my system, and a friend said to go for it, so here it is.

The breeze felt nice as Amalthea strolled through the woods. It had been a surprisingly calm week. With the majority of the chores being taken care of and her schedule clearer than usual, the main thing Amalthea was able to concentrate on was training her troops-with the occasional summoning ceremony, of course. And the Tempest Trials ended recently, so she couldn’t be more grateful for the extra rest. But then came the news of the new Legendary Banner, and her excitement resurfaced-especially when she saw which Heroes were going to be apart of it.

Prince Ephraim of Renais was the new Legendary Hero, so, of course, she had to have him. It took a few tries, but she finally managed to summon him. Of course, she picked only the blue orbs to make it a little easier. There were a few other Heroes she saw she wanted to summon, but the one that caught her eye was Shiro, Ryoma’s son, and the only Hero she was unable to summon from the banner that focused on the Children of Fate. As with Ephraim, a couple of tries, and she got him, too.

Both new units were doing well, along with the Fell version of Takumi, whom she had recently promoted to a 5-star unit. Poor Takumi. She felt horrible knowing how he got that way, and even worse after his confession to her once he reached his full potential. If he wasn’t training, she tried to keep him around his family (especially Ryoma) in hopes that it would calm him. They seemed a bit a frightened of him at first, but after she explained how he got that way (she hated revealing to Takumi that his nightmares were actually premonitions, but with this version of him present, the cat was pretty much out of the bag), they tried to do their best.

Ephraim wasn’t a problem. If he wasn’t on the training grounds, he was with Erika and Lyon. She was happy seeing them all together, again, knowing their story. Of course, this meant she had to keep an extra eye on Valter. Even with the “Restraining Order” spell she had Henry come up with to protect the twins, that guy was like a vulture-constantly circling around. Even her attempts to annoy him in order to divert his attention away wasn’t working as well, now that Ephraim was here.

And then there was Shiro. She liked Shiro. What a ball of energy that guy was! Not only was he always eager to be the battlefield, but he even turned regular chores into training sessions or contests with the Heroes. Some of the others found it annoying, but Hinata was always up for it. Ryoma, on the other hand, was still coming to terms with the fact that he had a son. Sure, he saw this coming, but it was still an odd feeling for him, and Amalthea hoped he would come to terms with it soon. They had even joked that since they were together, Shiro was their son.

A sudden splash snapped Amalthea out of her thoughts. She had come to a clearing by the river where she saw Shiro fishing. He didn’t seem to notice her presence since he was so focused on the task at hand. He often told her he would take over her fishing duties, but she realized after a year in Askr, she’d never gone fishing before, so it was nice of him to offer. He was always offering to do things for her. Not that it was any different from anyone else offering to help her, but there was something about him offering that she found oddly attractive.

Wait a minute...attractive? No way! Sure he was handsome; of course, he was. Look at his father! A loud whoop snapped Amalthea out of her thoughts, again, and she looked up to see Shiro joyfully reel in a large trout. She couldn’t help but notice the definition in his muscular arms as he pulled in the fish towards him.

“Alright!”, he exclaimed as he went to string the fish with the others he caught. He took a breath and lifted his shirt to wipe the sweat from his forehead, revealing a beautifully sculpted chest and abs she could do her laundry on. Amalthea swallowed hard. Then she shook her head. What the hell was wrong with her? For crying out loud, she was old enough to be his mother; and she was NOT into the whole cougar thing! Besides, she loved Ryoma.

She’d definitely been with Ryoma for a good while, now. Gods, she loved that man! He was stern on the battlefield and during training, but, dammit, when it came to love, that man knew what he was doing! He wrote her poems and love letters whenever he went off to patrol the gates to other worlds, sometimes as she did patrols around the castle, he would spontaneously pull her into an empty room where they would make out, and when they took baths together? Forget about it. But when it came to the bedroom…Amalthea blushed to herself, rubbed her neck, and smiled. That man was a master in the sheets.

He definitely put the “love” in lovemaking. He held, hugged, and kissed her just right, with just the right amount of roughness. She loved how she could be his leader during the day and then be completely submissive to him at night. And once they were done, they would just lay in each others' arms until they fell asleep. Sometimes she would be sleeping, only to suddenly be awoken by Ryoma pulling her closer to him so that he could cuddle up with her while nuzzling her neck. Yes. She loved that man, indeed. Satisfied that thinking about Ryoma had gotten her mind off of Shiro, Amalthea turned to leave.

 

Shiro finished stringing his latest catch, and wade back into the river. He loved the weather in Askr. It was always perfect for fishing. He was still getting used to being in another realm after being summoned only a few days earlier, but he was enjoying himself just the same. It was interesting getting to meet his father when he was younger, but the sternness was still there, nonetheless. His father had been a little unsure about him when they first met, but after talking with him for a little while, the two starting to bond. After all, _this_ father wasn’t the one who left him in the Deeprealms without telling him about his heritage.

Shiro smiled and cast his line out again. In his world, he was helping his father in a war against the Nohrians. In this world, the Hoshidans and the Nohrians were fighting side by side, which he found rather strange. Even his uncle, Takumi, seemed to be getting along with them decently enough. When he asked about it, he was told that Summoner Amalthea did not allow any fighting amongst fellow soldiers and that whatever rivalries or differences they dealt with in their own worlds were not allowed in this one. Askr was to be a neutral territory.

Shiro inhaled a deep breath of fresh air. Summoner Amalthea. He had never met a summoner before, so it was interesting getting to spend time with her when she was available. He first saw her during a battle when he and his friends were bound to a contract that forced them to fight. Back then all he saw was a hooded figure in white commanding the opposing army, so he never got a good look at her face, but once he was summoned, he knew, immediately that this was the same person. She was definitely different from anyone he’d ever met before-even in the Deeprealms.

Her skin was as brown as his hair, for starters, and her mannerisms were strange at times. When he was told that she, too, was from another realm, it started to make more sense-not that he really minded. While she was rather quiet, for the most part, he enjoyed her strange, yet quirky personality. She was kind and caring, yet serious when it came to her duties as the leader of the Order of Heroes. She was always running around the castle doing one thing or another, whether it was going to a war council, giving out assignments, training, budgeting with the commander, ordering inventory, cooking or cleaning, he rarely saw her sitting still.

He loved when she gave him assignments that could help him with his training, but he really loved fishing and bringing back a good catch for the army. He remembered the first time Amalthea tried one of his grilled fish and loved how her face lit up at how good it was. He was happy to know that he made such a good impression on her. She was cute, too...really cute. That brown skin and dark hair gave her a pretty exotic look, and the way she narrowed her eyes when she smiled sent shivers down his spine. And that body? Wow. He remembered a time when he had seen her giving Prince Xander a swimming lesson, and she was wearing a swimsuit the accentuated her amazing curves, making his jaw hit the floor.

That was when his mind started to go to places he knew he couldn’t tell anyone about-especially knowing that she and his father were lovers. In fact, he had heard plenty of jokes that Amalthea was his mother since she and his father were together, but he knew that wasn’t true. While she was surprisingly old enough to be his mother (he was even shocked to find out she was slightly older than his father), his real mother was Hoshidan, and Amalthea clearly was not. It didn’t help that one time when he was in the bathhouse with some of the guys, a Nohrian, named Niles, was bragging about how he was the first one to kiss her, and how her lips were like the sweetest nectar. Shiro couldn’t help but feel a little envious.

Shiro sighed. He didn’t want to disrespect his father in any way, but he was getting more and more anxious to find out what it would be like to be with a woman like Amalthea. What it would be like to have her smile at him the way she does to his father. To take her in his arms and kiss those full lips as he ran his hands along those sensual curves while pressing himself against her so she could feel his hardness. To lay her down and make passionate love to her until she screamed out his name in pure ecstasy…

The sudden snap of a twig brought him back to reality as he whirled around to see a person in white robes frozen in place with their back towards him.

“Amalthea?”, he called out, “Is that you?” Amalthea had been trying to walk away without being noticed, but she accidentally stepped on a twig causing a loud snap to sound out making her freeze in place hoping he hadn’t heard it. He had. Slowly she turned her head to see a confused Shiro staring back at her.

“Heeey, yooou”, she said embarrassed.

  

 

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

Shiro secured his fishing pole and came up the river’s bank towards Amalthea. “Hey, Amalthea! What’s up?”, he said happily. Amalthea couldn’t help but smile.

“Oh, nothing much. Just out for a walk.”

“Have you been watching me this whole time?”, Shiro asked slyly. Amalthea felt herself blush.

“No, of course, not! I mean, I saw you catch that trout a moment ago, but that’s about it.” Shiro gave a hearty laugh.

“Yeah, did you see that? That sucker was huge! I can’t wait to grill it up!”

“I’ll bet”, said Amalthea. “I’ve never met anyone who could grill a fish as well as you can.” Shiro smiled and began to rub the back of his neck feeling a bit embarrassed. Gods, he loved getting compliments from her! “Well”, Amalthea said, bringing him out of his thoughts, “I should get going. I hope I didn’t interrupt you, or anything. Do you need any help bringing this haul back to the kitchen? I could send someone out here for you.”

“No!” Shiro’s sudden outburst took Amalthea by surprise. He saw this and tried to reel himself in. For crying out loud, this was his chance to have her all to himself for a while! The last thing he wanted to do was scare her off. “I-I mean, no, that’s okay. I don’t need any help. In fact, I was thinking that you know, since you’re here, why don’t you stick around and fish with me for a while? I have an extra fishing pole!”

Amalthea looked away in hesitation. Fishing with Shiro? Alone? Several things inside of her said that this was a bad idea. She didn’t want him knowing she was attracted to him despite being in love with his father, but her curiosity was starting to get the better of her. She glanced back to see Shiro staring at her with an eager face. She smiled. Bless this young stallion of a Ryoma look alike. Aw, the heck with it. It was just fishing, right? What harm could it do?

“Sure”, she finally said. I’ll stick around for a while. Shiro let out another loud whoop.

“Alright!”, he exclaimed running over to a nearby tree where he picked up another fishing pole. He came back over and handed it to her. “You know how to fish, right?”, he asked. Amalthea nodded.

“Yeah. I used to go fishing with my dad when I was a kid. Only thing is that these are different from the fishing poles I’m accustomed to.”

“Really?”, Shiro asked, “How so?”

“Well, you guys either spear the fish to catch them or you pull on your line until you’re to get the fish in the net. The fishing poles from my world have a device on the side near the handle to help you reel the fish in.”

“Wow”, said Shiro. “That sounds pretty cool.”

“Aheh, yeah”, said Amalthea. “Even still, I haven’t fished in years, so you’ll have to forgive me if I’m not very good.” Shiro laughed.

“Nonsense”, he said gleefully. “That’s what I’m here for! Together, we’ll catch enough fish to feed the whole army for a week!” Amalthea laughed.

“Well, let’s try to leave some fish in there for spawning season”, she said. “We want to make sure we can continue to fish for seasons to come, right?” Shiro rubbed the back of his neck again.

“Heh heh, yeah I guess you’re right. Well, then. Let’s get started!” Amalthea nodded before removing her long robe, her boots, and her socks. Then she rolled up her pant legs and sleeves before wading into the river with Shiro. For the next few hours they talked, laughed, and caught many fish. Shiro talked about what it was like for him growing up in the Deeprealm, and she talked about growing up in her world, which fascinated Shiro.

Amalthea was actually pretty surprised at how easy “old school” fishing was. Anytime she had a catch, Shiro would secure his own line, and hurry over to her with a net to make it a little easier for her, and she, in return did the same for him. Then she hooked a really big fish in an area where the river’s current was a bit stronger nearly causing her to be pulled out of the slower current. Shiro saw this and came running towards her grabbing her from behind before reaching out to grab the pole before she dropped it. This fish was a fighter. It pulled and pulled, but the combined strength of Amalthea and Shiro gave it a good run for its money.

As they pulled together, Amalthea could not help but feel self-conscious about the fact that not only were Shiro’s strong arms around her as they gripped her pole, but his entire body was pressed hard against her back. Each time they pulled back he would grunt in a way that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand. And with his head being so close to hers, his warm breath on the back of her neck did not help. She tried to shake the feeling, but the longer they were like that, the warmer her insides became. All she could do was pray the no one would come looking for them, and catch them like this. What would Ryoma think if _he_ caught them like this?

Shiro, in the meantime, was in his own world. This was exactly what he had been hoping for! A fish large enough for Amalthea to have some serious trouble with just so he would have an excuse to put his arms around her! Of course, he did his best to hide his excitement when she called for his help. As soon as his arms were around her, and he had pressed himself against her back, he was in heaven. She felt so warm and smelled like lavender with a hint of...was that vanilla? He wanted to press his face into her neck and drink in her scent, but he fought off the urge.

Careful, Shiro, he thought to himself. Take it easy. One step at a time. The fish gave the line a sudden jerk pulling both of them forward as it worked with the strong current of the river.

“Ah!” Amalthea nearly fell forward, but Shiro was quick to put one arm around her waist while keeping the other on the pole. The sudden motion left them in an awkward position as it left Amalthea slightly bent forward with her rear end pressed against his groin. Shiro gasped as he felt himself starting to harden, and knew he had to do something quick before Amalthea noticed.

“Hey, I have an idea”, he said. Can you hold on for just a moment? I’m gonna go grab the net!” Before Amalthea could say a word, Shiro let go of her and raced off to grab the net. Even though she was still struggling, Amalthea couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. Shiro was quickly back and splashed past her closer to the end of the line.

“Shiro! What are you doing?”, Amalthea called out.

“This little bastard’s had his fun. I’m bringing him in”, Shiro said.

“You’ll be swept out!”, Amalthea sounded worried which made Shiro grin.

“I’d like to see this river try”, he said confidently. “Just hang on to that line!” Amalthea nodded and planted her feet as firmly as she could steading herself. Shiro steadied himself, as well, as he walked cautiously out as close as he could to the line’s end. The water was pulling him forward, but he did his best to continue standing up straight not allowing the water to take control of his actions. The fish looked as if it was tiring out as it wasn’t pulling as hard as it was before. Shiro took hold of the line and started to pull the line toward him. This seemed to awaken a little more energy from the fish as it started pulling again.

Shiro put the pole of the net in his mouth and grabbed the line with both hands. Slowly and carefully, Shiro pulled the line towards him, every now and again allowing the fish to fight with what little energy it had left until it was finally close enough. With one quick motion, Shiro took the net from his mouth and scooped up an enormous catfish. “Holy cow! Amalthea, are you seeing this?!” Shiro turned back to see Amalthea cheering while jumping up and down with excitement. With a huge smile, he carefully made his way back to safer current.

Amalthea was both overjoyed and relieved as Shiro made his way back to her. That was probably the biggest catfish she had ever seen, and they managed to catch it! She had gotten a little scared as she watched Shiro pulling the fish in hoping the line wouldn’t snap, but was happy when the whole ordeal was finally over. The fish was still flopping a bit inside the net, so she helped Shiro bring it over to shore. Once the fish was properly strung up, Shiro took her by surprise as he suddenly picked her up and swung her around in pure joy laughing and whooping his head off.

“Did you see that?! Wasn’t that awesome?! We sure showed that fish who’s boss!” Amalthea laughed.

“We sure did, Shiro. You were great out there.”

“I’ll say! You weren’t so bad, yourself!” He had finished swinging her around and was now just standing there still holding her in his arms.

“Um, Shiro? You can put me down, now”, Amalthea said sheepishly.

“Huh? Oh, right. Sorry!” Shiro gently let Amalthea down and watched as she quickly took several steps away from him. He tilted his head. “Uh, are you okay, Amalthea”, he asked puzzled.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine”, Amalthea said. “I guess I’m, uh, just a bit hungry is all. What do you say we take this haul back to the castle? The sun will be going down soon, and I’m sure people will be wondering where we are.”

“I was thinking since we put in all that hard work we could go ahead, and have this big guy, here.” Shiro smiled. “Besides, everyone knows I’m out fishing. Maybe you should go back, and let everyone know you’re out here with me. What do you say? Campsite grilled fish dinner with me, tonight?”

Amalthea got quiet. Her alarm bells were starting to go off again-especially after all the awkward touching that happened just a while ago. But, dammit, she was hungry! Never in her life had she worked up such an appetite over fishing before. “Well”, she said, “I suppose I can go back and let everyone know I’m here.”

“Alright!”, Shiro exclaimed. “You go on ahead. I’ll get everything set up!”

“What about the rest of the fish?”

“Oh, don’t worry about them. I've got everything under control!”

“Oh. Okay, then. I guess I’ll be back in a little while.” Amalthea grabbed her boots and robe and headed back the way she came.

“Hurry back!”, Shiro called after her. Amalthea turned back to him and smiled before disappearing into the brush. Shiro gave a final wave before going about setting up to grill the fish. He was ecstatic as he gathered wood for the fire. This way the best fishing day of his life! He’d caught an enormous fish with the woman of his dreams, and now he was going to have it for dinner with her, too! Shiro's mind couldn’t help but go back to the way their bodies had been forced together as they fought to bring that fish in-especially when she had been bent into his groin.

He felt himself harden, again, but this time Amalthea was nowhere in sight, so he let it happen. He let out a satisfying sigh as he grabbed his crotch and gently stroked himself thinking about her. “All in due time”, he said to himself. He let go of himself and went back to setting up the campfire. The giant catfish flopped from behind, and Shiro turned to look at it. He smiled. “Thanks to you, I’m gonna be one lucky guy tonight”, he said winking at the fish. Then he turned back and struck two rocks together starting the fire.

 


	3. Chapter 3

The sky was turning pink and orange with the setting sun when Amalthea got back to the castle. She had been right about the others being worried about her whereabouts, but once she explained where she was, they all calmed down. Since her feet were muddy and her clothes were wet, she decided to take a quick bath and change into some new clothes. She chose a short blue dress Oboro had made for her and some simple flats. She figured it was a cute, but low maintenance outfit since she was going to be near the water, again, and she wasn’t too worried about getting it dirty. As she examined herself in the mirror, she suddenly had an odd thought. Why on earth was she worried about whether or not she looked cute?

Amalthea sighed. What was wrong with her? She was just going to enjoy a simple grilled fish dinner by the river. Fish that _she_ helped catch! It wasn’t a date, yet here she was fixing her hair, straightening her clothes, and contemplating whether or not she should put in some earrings! She looked at herself in the mirror. “You’re an idiot”, she mumbled at her reflection.

“What was that?”, asked a deep voice behind her. Amalthea turned around to see Ryoma had come into the bedchamber. Amalthea smiled and ran over to him as he removed his chin guard. They shared a long embrace and kissed. Ryoma then tilted Amalthea’s chin up so he could look into her eyes. “It seems you gave everyone quite a scare today. Anything I should know about?”

“It’s no big deal”, Amalthea said. “I was just out for a walk and I came across your son fishing on the river. He convinced me to stick around and fish with him. Sorry to make you worry.”

“Oh, it’s fine. I’m glad the two of you are getting along.” Ryoma walked to the bed and began to remove his armor, while Amalthea went over to the dresser and got a robe for him out of the drawer. Then she walked over to the bed and laid the robe out for him. Ryoma smiled. “By the way”, he said taking into account her new outfit, “where are you headed off to, now?”

“Oh. Well…” Amalthea wasn’t sure why she was so embarrassed to tell him. She mentally slapped herself and turned to Ryoma. “Actually, Shiro thought that since we worked so hard to catch the fish, we could eat them by the river. He was setting up to grill them when I left. Would you like to join us?” She was praying that he would say yes if only to ease the tension she felt when she was near Shiro. Unfortunately, Ryoma shook his head.

“I would love to, my dear, but I must decline this time. Prince Xander has invited me to tea. Then after dinner, he’s finally going to teach me how to play chess.”

“You mean Virion hasn’t taught you by now? He’s always asking me to play.”

“I don’t see him that often, so I guess he’s never had the opportunity.”

“I see.” Ryoma looked over at Amalthea and noticed looked a little upset.

“Is something wrong?”, he asked. Amalthea shook her head. She figured she was being ridiculous. There was nothing to worry about. Sure there was some awkwardness that happened while fishing, but it was nothing worth talking about. She looked up at Ryoma and smiled.

“I guess I was just hoping to spend a little time with you this evening. We’re usually so busy during the day, but I guess I was goofing off with the whole fishing thing today.” Ryoma laughed.

“You’re not at fault; I spent the day training. Besides, once we’re done with our evening plans, we’ll be coming back here to our bed, won’t we?”, he said giving Amalthea a wink. She smiled and turned away blushing.

“I suppose so”, she said. Boy, this man sure knew how to make her body turn to jelly! Ryoma finished undressing and put on the robe Amalthea had put out for him.

“Well, I’m headed to the bathhouse”, he said kissing her on the cheek. “You go and have yourself a good time. Be careful out there in the dark. Take a torch if you need to.”

“Okay”, said Amalthea. “I’ll see you went I get back.” They gave each other a final kiss and went their separate ways.

 

It was dark when Amalthea got back to Shiro’s campsite. Good thing she took Ryoma’s advice and brought a torch with her. She came to the same clearing as before and saw Shiro by the fire poking at flames where the fish were cooking. He looked up when he heard her come through the brush and gave her a big smile. “There you are!”, he exclaimed. “Sure took you long enough! I was about to enjoy this bountiful feast all by myself!”

“Sorry”, said Amalthea. “I wanted to get out of those dirty clothes, so I took a bath and changed.”

“I’ll say”, Shiro said noticing Amalthea’s new outfit, although his eyes lingered a little longer on her legs. “Looks nice. Thought you’d get all dressed up for our dinner date?”

“Oh, haha”, Amalthea said mockingly. She walked over a log Shiro had pulled over near the fire and sat down. “The food smells great”, she said. “Anything you need help with?”

“Nope!”, said, Shiro. “Everything’s all good!” Shiro grabbed a knife and started to cut up the large catfish that had caused them so much trouble earlier that day. Well, no trouble for him, anyway. He put the pieces on two plates that he had packed with the rest of his fishing equipment and brought them over to the log where Amalthea was sitting. He was a little embarrassed not having any utensils, but Amalthea didn’t mind. After all, they were outside. Who had time to worry about table manners?

The two of them had a great time talking and laughing as they ate their catch. They had a contest seeing who could throw food in the air and catch it in their mouth the most times and even tried to see who could eat their food the fastest-without their hands. Their laughter echoed throughout the forest, and when they were full, Shiro got out a small blanket he kept in his bag and spread it out by the water so the two of them could lay on it and just look at the night sky. The fire was starting to die down a little so they were able to see stars easier since there was only a crescent moon out that night. Amalthea and Shiro lay there remaining quiet for a while before Shiro finally spoke.

“It’s a beautiful night, isn’t it?”, he asked.

“It sure is”, said Amalthea. “Thanks for inviting me out here tonight. I’m glad I came.”

“I’m glad you came, too. And for the whole thing, not just tonight.” Shiro sat up. “I mean, I know I haven’t been here very long, but I really enjoy spending time with you. I just kinda wish you were available more often.”

“Yeah, I hear that a lot”, Amalthea said sitting up as well. “And I feel bad, you know? I mean, when there were fewer Heroes it was much easier getting to spend time with everyone, but now there are just so many of you, and...I’m sorry.”

“Hey, don’t worry about it”, Shiro said putting a hand on Amalthea leg right above her knee and giving it a light squeeze. “I know how busy you are. You do a lot for this army. You have the burden of an entire realm on your shoulders and everyone here looks to you for guidance. Hell, I still can’t believe I’m gonna be a king one day, but you? If I had half the amount of diligence you possess, I’d probably be a much better prince.”

“You're growing at your own pace”, said Amalthea. “There’s no need to rush it. Your father isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, so he’ll be around for a long time to teach you everything he knows to see you down the right path.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right”, said Shiro. Amalthea noticed his hand was still on her leg. In fact, if she wasn’t mistaken, had he moved his hand up a bit? She tried to move her leg away, but his grip on it tightened. Amalthea let out a small gasp and looked up to see Shiro staring directly at her with the most intense look she’d ever seen. No. No, it wasn’t. She had seen it before. It was the same look Ryoma had given her the first time they had…

“Shiro?”, she said cautiously. “A-are you alright?”  

“I’m really glad you came out here, tonight”, Shiro said quietly his gaze never leaving her.

“Um, yeah. We already established that”, said Amalthea nervously.

“No”, said Shiro. “I’m _really_ glad you came. I’ve been looking forward to this all day.”

“W-what do you mean?”, Amalthea stammered. Those alarm bells were now sounding off so loud in her head she thought, for sure, that Shiro would be able to hear them, too.

“Isn't it obvious?”, Shiro said with a lecherous grin. “I'm into you.” He leaned in as if to kiss her, but Amalthea quickly scooted away from him.

“Shiro!”, she cried.

“What?”, said Shiro still grinning amused by Amalthea’s bewilderment.

“What do you think you're doing?!”

“Duh, I'm trying to kiss you.”

“But, why?”

“I just told you.”

“Shiro...no.”

“Oh, come on. Why not?”

“You know damn well, why! I’m with your father!”

“You’re not married to him.”

“Haven’t you heard the rumors? I could be your mother!” Shiro laughed.

“Yeah, but you’re not.”

“But I’m old enough to be.”

“But you’re not”, Shiro repeated inching closer to her. Amalthea then tried to get up, but Shiro managed to get close enough to grab her arm and pull her down on top of him. She tried to get off of him but he rolled over putting himself on top of her.

“Hi, there”, he said in a sly voice.

“Shiro, this is insane”, said Amalthea. She struggled to get from under him, but deep down she knew it was impossible. Shiro was much bigger and stronger than she was and he had her pinned good. “Please”, she pleaded, “Just...let me go.”

“Can’t do that”, Shiro said quietly smiling down at her. Before she could respond, Shiro bent his head down and began kissing her neck.

“Ah!”, Amalthea cried out. “S-Shiro...please...nngh...oh, god…”

“Please?”, Shiro repeated with a chuckle. “Well, since you asked…”

“N-no”, Amalthea said as she struggled to find her voice. “That’s not what I-ah!” Shiro had stopped kissing her neck and was tracing his lips along her collarbone. Her dress had a short collar that opened up showing off her neck and a small amount of her collarbone, but Shiro worked with what he had. Amalthea suddenly gasped as she felt Shiro’s hand run down her waist, over her hip, and slowly feel it’s way up her dress as he started grinding on her-his cock rock hard at this point. _Dammit_ , she thought. _I knew I should’ve worn leggings_!

Suddenly she felt Shiro’s hand reach into her underwear. That snapped her out of her trance and gave her an adrenaline rush strong enough that with a loud cry she managed to toss Shiro off of her.

“Whoa!”, Shiro exclaimed. He looked at Amalthea who, at this point, was several feet away from him panting as if she’d just run several miles nonstop. “Amalthea”, he said. He started to come towards her, but Amalthea jumped up and ran off. Shiro leaped up as well as took off after her. Thanks to the brush and Amalthea not being able to navigate her way very well in the dark, Shiro quickly caught up with her.

He grabbed her by her arm, again and pulled her to him. Again, Amalthea struggled, but this time, Shiro pinned her to a nearby tree.

“Shiro, stop!”, Amalthea screamed. “You can’t do this!”

“Why, not?!”, Shiro screamed back. “You’re not married to my old man, so what’s the big deal?”

“I _love_ your father, Shiro!”, Amalthea exclaimed.

“What, you can’t learn to love me, too?” Shiro said starting to get angry.

“Yes, but not like that”, Amalthea said.

“Bullshit!”, Shiro shouted. Amalthea closed her eyes and turned her head away when he said that, and he knew he had frightened her. It didn’t help that he had her pinned to a tree. Shiro sighed. “Look”, he said more gently this time, “I...I like you. I like you a lot. I’ve been wanting to tell you for a while, now, and when you were fishing with me today…” Shiro got quiet as he blushed, and Amalthea knew exactly what he was thinking about.

“I-I see”, she said. Both of them were quiet for a moment before Shiro loosened his grip. He then put one arm over her head and the other around her waist.

“Look”, he said quietly rubbing her lower back causing a soft groan to escape her lips. “I’ve clearly left you an opening here. You’re free to go. I’m-I’m sorry for scaring you. Can you forgive me?” Amalthea lowered her head.

“I-I guess so”, she said quietly. “Can you promise me that you won’t do this, again?”

“Will you tell my father?”, Shiro asked.

“Not as long as you promise”, said Amalthea. Shiro thought for a moment and then sighed.

“Alright”, he finally said. “I promise.”

“Okay”, said Amalthea. She then slid away from him through the opening he left with his arm overhead and slowly started to walk away.

“Don’t you want to get your torch?”, Shiro asked called after her. Amalthea shook her head.

“No”, she said. “I’ll find my way back. I’ve walked these woods before. It shouldn’t be too hard.” With that, she disappeared from sight. Shiro looked after her for a little while before heading back to the campsite. He felt somewhat bad for his actions this evening.

Sure, he had wanted to express his feelings, but he didn’t think he would scare her that way he did. Still… Shiro grinned. He almost had her. He had been on top of her, and from what little he was able to feel, she felt just as good as he imagined. And when he kissed her neck? He had been right about her scent. Lavender and vanilla.

He felt himself harden, again thinking about how she cried out when he kissed her. She had loved it. He knew she did. If only he could get another shot at it. Sure, he had promised he wouldn’t, but that was the beauty of having his arm over her head. He had his fingers crossed, and she hadn’t even bothered to check. He smiled.

“Oh, yeah, I’ll have you all to myself again, soon”, he said aloud. He reached his campsite and looked up at the starry night sky. “I’m sorry, Father”, he said, “but your days with Amalthea are numbered.” He had gotten a taste and he wanted more. He _had_ to have more, and he was more than determined to get it. He then laughed to himself before cleaning up the area, packing up his equipment, and putting out the fire before heading back to the castle.

 


	4. Chapter 4

Several weeks had gone by since the incident at the campsite. The Tempest Trials had come and gone, new Heroes had been summoned, and Amalthea found herself swamped with all of the extra work. Still, she was grateful for the distraction. New areas around Zenith were being discovered such as the Blessed Gardens which was a great place to collect orbs and a labyrinth that led deep underground to a secret hot spring. While they did have to fight their way down, the Heroes enjoyed getting a chance to relax in the soothing warm warms, and Amalthea did her best to make sure everyone got a chance to go down there before it vanished. All the while, of course, she did her best to avoid Shiro. When she did have to be near for things such as training or handing out assignments, she did her best to avoid eye contact with him while trying to appear professional so as not to raise any eyebrows.

Such things were a little more difficult in Shiro’s case. He couldn’t stop thinking about it. Couldn’t stop thinking about _her_. Ever since that night, he had been able to focus on little else. When she gave him an assignment he always thanked her with a smile and a wink-if she even bothered to look at him with more than a quick glance, listened out for any errands she needed to have run just so that he would be the one to report back to her, and went all out during training sessions to make sure she noticed him. Sometimes he would even be reckless on purpose in hopes to get a scolding from her just so he would have an excuse to talk to her. Unfortunately, this plan usually backfired as most of those scolding came from his father.

While a little annoyed by it, Shiro actually enjoyed the fact that Amalthea was trying to avoid him. After all, it meant he had gotten to her. All he needed was another opportunity to get her alone, but that was proving to be more difficult than he thought. Sure, Amalthea stayed busy most of the time, which meant she was constantly around other people, but the biggest obstacle standing in his way was, of course, his father. No matter where Amalthea was, his father was never far away.

They often worked together, trained together, patroled together, meditated together, ate together, and of course, slept together. At the beginning of his time in Askr, Shiro didn’t mind these things, but as his feelings for Amalthea began to grow, seeing them together was almost enough to make his blood boil. That should be _him_ doing all of those things with Amalthea, not his father! He couldn’t even count the number of times he wanted to run over to them, knock his father out of the way, and carry Amalthea off somewhere where he could have her all to himself. Instead, he just sat back and waited. His patience would soon pay off.

With so many Heroes around, patrolling the gates that led to other worlds was a cinch. Every week there was a rotation of around a hundred or so Heroes that patrolled each gate in small groups while the remaining Heroes kept watch at the castle. Normally Amalthea worked on the rotations so she usually placed him in a group along with his father-no doubt a way to make sure if Ryoma was going to be away so would he, but thanks to Amalthea having been busy with the Tempest Trials and other events, she had passed that assignment on to Soren, the tactician for the Greil Mercenaries. Soren was not only incredibly efficient, but he had a different way of putting together groups.

Amalthea usually put together groups that kept friends and family together while Soren, on the other hand, put together groups that would prove to be most beneficial in a fight should anything happen. On top of that, Soren was able to put together a month’s worth of rotations in just a couple of days. Every week when rotations were posted, Shiro would rush to the billboard in the grand hall to see where he would be compared to his father. The first few times he would be disappointed to see that either both he and his father would be out at the same time, or he would be gone while his father was at the castle. However, when the post for the final week of that month was put up, Shiro finally saw what he had been hoping for. His father was on the list...and he was not. Shiro let out a whoop so loud, other Heroes rushed into the hall wondering what was going on, but he just made up an excuse saying he finally got some time to fish.

Amalthea was in the kitchen when she heard Shiro’s joyous shout, and immediately knew what it meant. She took a deep breath to steady herself and calmly made her way to the grand hall as if she was making rounds and was just following the sounds of the commotion. When she got there she saw several Heroes around the billboard, but Shiro was nowhere to be seen so she figured he had run off somewhere. “What was that shouting I heard earlier?”, she asked. Soleil, who was among the group, turned to her and smiled.

“Hey, cutie!”, she exclaimed. “Oh, that was just Shiro. Apparently, he finally got some time off from gate patrol. Lucky!” Amalthea made her way through the crowd to look at the board to look at the post. Sure enough, Shiro’s name was not on the list...and Ryoma’s was. She sighed. _Great_ , she thought. _What am I gonna do, now?_

A hand on Amalthea’s shoulder brought her out of her thoughts. She turned around to see Ryoma had come over to check out the billboard as well. She smiled sheepishly and moved aside so that he could get a closer look. After a quick glance he turned back to her and held out his hand which she took smiling at him, and the two of them walked out into the gardens. Together they walked quietly along the path until they came to their favorite tree beside the pond. There they sat down and Ryoma lovingly put his arm around Amalthea pulling her close and she leaned into him resting her head on his chest while their hands remained intertwined in his lap. After sitting in silence for several minutes, it was Ryoma who was first to speak.

“It would seem the time has come for us to be apart, again”, he said. Amalthea sighed.

“Yeah. It sucks”, she moaned. Ryoma chuckled.

“It’s only for a week, my dear. It’s not like we have never done this before.”

“Yeah, but I still don’t like it”, said Amalthea. She sighed and looked up at him. “I’m sorry”, she said. “I don’t mean to sound so clingy.”

“You don’t”, he replied. “I don’t like being away from you, either, but being in a war means sometimes being away from your loved ones from certain, if not unknown periods of time.” Amalthea sighed again.

“Yeah, I know”, she said. They sat quietly a little longer before Ryoma stood up then turned around to help Amalthea to her feet. He then tilted her chin up to him and leaned in giving her a deep, sensual kiss as she stood on her toes and wrapped her arms around his neck. After pulling apart, they embraced one another and watched the sky turn pink and orange as the sun began to set beyond the horizon. When they heard the dinner bell ring in the distance, Ryoma kissed the top of Amalthea’s head and then took her hand, kissing it as well, before leading her through the gardens and back to the castle.

 

After dinner, Shiro decided to go for a walk in the woods. Luckily there was a full moon out, so there was no need for a torch. He needed to think. The gate patrol groups were moving out first thing in the morning and he knew, for sure, that Amalthea would do her best to avoid him even more so now that his father wouldn’t be around. Sure, he had a whole week to get her alone, and the last thing he wanted to do was scare her, again, but he had to talk to her. He knew she felt something that, but how was he going to get her to confess? “Think, Shiro, think”, he said aloud, “You’ve got to get her alone somehow.”

“Got a lady on the brain?”, said a sly voice in the darkness. Startled, Shiro looked about the trees.

“Who’s there?”, he called out.

“Oh, relax, little prince, it’s just me.” A dark figure walked out from behind the trees, and Shiro saw that it was Niles, the Nohrian who had bragged about kissing Amalthea. Niles walked closer to Shiro and leaned against a nearby tree crossing his arms and smiling lecherously as his eyes wandered slowly up and down Shiro’s body. Shiro looked away and shifted uncomfortably where he stood. Niles chuckled in amusement. “So”, he finally said, “What’s the handsome son of the High Prince of Hoshido doing out in the middle of the woods alone so late at night?”

Shiro found himself blushing with embarrassment. Though nervous about being around Niles, knowing his reputation, Shiro was actually glad to see him. He needed some advice, after all, and if Niles knew how to steal a kiss from Amalthea, surely he knew how to get her alone. Shiro took a deep breath and composed himself. “Actually”, he said facing Niles, “I’m glad you’re here. I need your help.”

“Oh?”, said an intrigued Niles.

“Yeah”, Shiro replied. “I need to talk to Amalthea.”

“You need help talking to the Summoner?”, asked Niles confused. “That’s odd. I’ve never heard of anyone having trouble talking to her. Well, except that Lon’qu guy, but he’s a special case. In fact, if I’m not mistaken, haven’t you spent time with her before?” Shiro looked upset as he sighed and lowered his head nodding.

“Yeah, but...she’s been avoiding me for weeks”, he said sadly.

“Really?”, said Niles. “And why would that be?” Shiro got quiet and moved around uncomfortably again.

“I, uh…”, Shiro said nervously as he looked away and started rubbing one of his arms. Niles eyes suddenly widened in a knowing kind of amusement. In a flash, he was in front of Shiro grabbing his chins by his fingers pulling him so close, he could’ve kissed the now frightened prince.

“What did you do?”, he excitingly demanded.

“U-um, well, I-I…”, Shiro stammered.

“Come on, don’t be shy”, Niles taunted pulling Shiro’s face even closer. “Tell me what happened. What could you have possibly done to make the Summoner want to avoid _you_?” Shiro was incredibly nervous since he had never told anyone about what happened that night, but if it meant getting Niles out of his face… Shiro took a deep breath.

“Okay”, he said. “Here’s what happened...”

 

Amalthea hummed to herself as she walked through the woods picking berries. Nino had told her that she wanted to try her luck at baking pies, so while afternoon chores were being done, Amalthea went out to gather fruit. She was grateful for the quiet time as she strolled along. Ryoma and the other groups had left earlier that morning and she was already missing him. She shook her head feeling a bit silly. As many times as he had gone away for gate patrol, she thought she would be used to it by now. _This is what happens when you’ve been single for thirty years_ , she thought. _You start getting clingy_.

As she continued walking, she realized her surroundings were becoming familiar. Then she heard the sound of rushing water and knew exactly where she was. It was the same river where she had been fishing with Shiro. The same river where they had eaten there catch on the bank. And then… Amalthea sighed. She was well aware that Shiro wanted to talk to her but she just couldn’t bring herself to face him. She was too embarrassed.

 _But why,_ she thought. In her world, most older women loved it when younger guys hit on them, but to her, it was just plain weird. _No_ , she thought. It wasn’t that it was weird; it was just that fact that he was Ryoma’s son. She was attracted to her lover’s son, and the feeling seemed to be mutual. _Why me_ , she thought. She knew that she wasn’t the first person in the world to be in such a situation, but it was just so annoying!

Seriously, out of all the attractive men at the castle, why did Shiro have to be among them? Her thoughts started to drift to that night by the river. Why didn’t she listen to her instincts? She knew something would happen if she accepted his invitation, yet she went anyway. She then thought about how he manhandled her as he pinned her down. A slight grin crept across her face as she started to rub her neck thinking about the way he had kissed it. Damned if she couldn’t help but admit to herself that she enjoyed that-even if she had thrown him off of her when she came to her senses.

The snap of a branch suddenly jolted Amalthea out of her thoughts. She didn’t bother to turn around since she knew exactly who it was. She thought about running away but knew it would be useless. He was way too fast and would catch up with easily catch her. It was time to face the music. Amalthea took a deep breath and sighed. “Hi, Shiro”, she said quietly.

 

Shiro could feel his heart beating faster with each step as he searched the woods for Amalthea. He hoped the advice Niles had given him last night would work-even though talking to him had been more than a little awkward. Niles had not been willing to let Shiro go so easily. He had listened carefully as Shiro told him everything that had happened that day AND night. From the awkward fishing to the near lovemaking. When he was finished Niles had said nothing; he just stood there smiling with his eyes closed as he rubbed his chin.

_“So”, he finally said, “you’re in love with the Summoner, who is in love with your father. Tsk tsk tsk. As much as I love a scandalous love triangle, this one is quite a doozy.” Shiro looked nervous as Niles stared at him._

_“So, uh…”, said Shiro nervously, “what should I do?”_

_“What is it that you want to do?”, Niles replied. Shiro sighed._

_“I-I want to tell her how I feel. And I mean REALLY confess this time-not just throw myself at her.”_

_“Don’t you mean “on top of her”?”, Niles said mockingly. Shiro blushed._

_“That was a pretty dumb move, huh?”, he said._

_“Oh, most definitely”, said Niles in agreement. “The trick is to give them a little taste of sweetness so that they come back wanting more, not throw the whole dessert tray at them. Not to say I’ve never done so, myself, but...I’m an expert.”_ Shiro smiled and shook his head as he thought about what Niles had said. He had been right. Throwing himself at Amalthea like that had been a really dumb move. No wonder she was avoiding him so desperately.

Shiro suddenly stopped in his tracks and cocked his head listening. Was that humming he heard? Deciding to follow the sound, Shiro calmed himself and walked through the woods to see where it was coming from. It wasn’t long before he located the source. There she was-the object of his desire.

He knew Amalthea was out here in the woods after hearing that she was picking fruit, but it was still so surreal seeing her. For so long, he had been trying to get her alone so he could talk to her. Now that it was happening, what was he going to do? He knew he could catch her if she tried to run, but he knew that would just scare her again. As he thought about what the best way to approach her would be, he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. She was walking away. As stealthy as he could, Shiro decided he would just follow her for a while.

Soon they were back at the clearing where it all began. Shiro watched as Amalthea stared out at the river knowing that she was thinking about that night. He smiled when he saw her rubbing her neck where he had kissed her. _Yes_ , he thought happily. _I knew she loved it! It knew it!_ He was so distracted by his mental celebration that suddenly... _SNAP !_ His foot came down on a fallen branch.

Shiro froze. This seemed familiar. Slowly he came out from behind the tree he had been hiding behind and, once again, found Amalthea frozen with her back facing him. When he heard her quiet greeting, he cautiously made his way to her. Thankfully, she didn’t run.

“Uh, hey”, Shiro said. Amalthea said nothing. Shiro gulped. “I, uh...I’ve been meaning to talk to you.”

“I know”, said Amalthea. She took a deep breath and turned around to face him. “You want to talk about that night, don’t you?” Shiro nodded.

“Yeah. Yeah, I do”, he replied. Amalthea sighed.

“What is it you want to talk about?”, she asked.

“Isn’t it obvious?”, Shiro said, a little annoyed. “I want to know how you felt that night. You know, before you threw me off of you. And tell me the truth!” Noticing that his temper was starting to flair, he quickly checked himself.

“I’m sorry I keep getting angry”, he said. “I’ve just been wanting to talk to you for so long, and you’ve been avoiding me…” Shiro paused for a moment. He looked at Amalthea who was staring sadly at the ground. “Please”, he begged, “Please talk to me. I need to know.”

Amalthea remained quiet for a moment longer. She had never been very good at expressing her feelings, but given the situation, she knew there was no way out of this. Gathering up her courage, she sighed and looked up at Shiro. “Shiro”, she said, “I am very much attracted to you. I wanted so badly to think of you as a son since I’m with your father, but as soon as I summoned you and started getting to know you, certain feelings that I knew shouldn’t exist started stirring within me.”

She paused for a moment as Shiro held his breath. She sighed, again, then continued. “That day when we were fishing I will admit that I actually enjoyed the way you were pressed up against me when that fish was giving me trouble. And then that night…” She blushed and turned her head. Shiro, however, could barely contain his excitement. Happily, he grabbed her hands causing some of the fruit in her basket to spill.

“But this is great!”, he exclaimed. “This is great! I feel the same way about you! I mean, I never saw you as a mother figure, anyway! And, yeah, you’re currently with my dad, but now that we know how we feel about each other-”

"It's just a phase, Shiro", Amalthea said. "Believe me, it'll pass."

"Not for me, it won't!", declared Shiro. He sighed then gently lifted her chin up so he could look deep into her eyes. "Please", he said, "Leave my father and give us a chance. I don't care about the age difference. I can make you just as happy as any other man. Just give me a chance to prove it!" With tears in her eyes, Amalthea wiped Shiro's bangs from his forehead and cupped his face with her hand.

"I'm sorry", she said quietly, "but I can't. I can't be with you, Shiro. I love your father too much. I could never think of leaving him-especially for his own son." Shiro was about to protest, but when tears started to stream down Amalthea's face, he remained silent as his shoulders dropped and he lowered his head in defeat. For several minutes neither of them said a word. It seemed that the whole world had quieted down, and the only sounds that could be heard were the wind rustling through the trees, the occasional chirping of birds, and Amalthea’s quiet sobs.

Finally, Shiro had had enough. He continued to hold one of Amalthea’s hands while he wiped away her tears with his other. Then he got down on one knee and looked up at her. "I understand", he finally said. "In that case, may I make a final request?" Amalthea held her breath not knowing what to expect but nodded. Shiro took a deep breath, and gathering the last spark of hope he held in his heart, he asked, "Will you please grant me the honor of spending one night with you? Just one night. Please."

 


	5. Chapter 5

“So, I'm going to need you to divert all attention away from me for the entire night. Can you do that?” Amalthea sat on a barrel in the castle’s dungeon nervously watching the two Henrys throwing various ingredients into a large black cauldron as she waited for them to respond. She knew that neither of them would question her request, but it still made her nervous.

“Sure, no problem!”, said Halloween Henry cheerfully.

“You can count on us!”, said [regular] Henry with the same amount of enthusiasm. Amalthea smiled.

“Thanks, you guys”, she said. “I really appreciate it. There’s just something I really need to take care of, and I can’t afford to be interrupted.”

“Are you sure you just need the one night?”, asked [regular] Henry.

“Yeah! We can make the spell work for all night and the all the next day if you want”, piped up Halloween Henry. Amalthea shook her head.

“I don’t think so”, she said. “Besides, Ryoma will be back tomorrow and I want to make sure I’m available to greet him.”

“Okay!”, said the Henrys in unison. Amalthea smiled again. She loved these two. As scary as they could be on the battlefield, they were so friendly and loyal to her willing to do anything she asked with a smile. Amalthea suddenly gasped as a puff of green smoke shot up out of the cauldron and a weird odor began to fill the room.

“Holy crap!”, exclaimed Amalthea as she coughed and tried to swat away the smoke. “What IS that?!”

“We’re working on a new hex”, said [regular] Henry.

“Yeah!”, said Halloween Henry. “It’ll kill up to one thousand people in an instant by burning them alive! Just as King Sutur does.” Amalthea’s eyes widened in horror at the thought. She’d seen plenty of the destruction Surtr left in his wake and every encounter with him made her throw up afterward. He was truly terrifying.  

“W-why would want to do that?!”, she shouted. The two Henrys turned to her with their usual smiles, but with their eyes slightly opened.

“Why not?”, they said in unison. Feeling both scared out and a little creeped out, Amalthea threw up her hands.

“You’re right. Forget I asked”, she said as she slid off of the barrel. “I’m going to get ready for bed. Thanks again, you two.” The two Henrys closed their eyes again and waved as Amalthea made her way to stairs.

“Anytime!”, said Halloween Henry.

“We’ll have the spell ready soon!”, said [regular] Henry.

“Great”, said Amalthea. “Thanks again, guys. Goodnight!”

“Goodnight, Amalthea!”, returned the Henrys. Once Amalthea was upstairs and they heard the door close, the two Henrys turned to each other with knowing smiles.

“Didn’t she leave someone out?”, asked [regular] Henry.

“Nyah ha ha ha, don’t worry, we’ll take care of it”, replied Halloween Henry. “In fact, why don’t we give her tonight and most of the next day? The gate patrol groups won’t be back until tomorrow evening, anyway.”

“Good idea”, said [regular] Henry. “I’m sure they’ll appreciate it.” And with that, the two sorcerers held up their hands and began to chant. One by one, all thoughts of both Amalthea and Shiro left the minds of everyone throughout the castle. Even as Amalthea walked by people on her way to her room, no one paid her any attention. She liked this spell. Whenever she wanted to get in some serious alone time to take a break, nap, or just be plain lazy, she always asked for the Henrys to perform this spell, and right now she needed it more than ever.

 

 _“Just one night. Please", Shiro said trying not to sound desperate. Amalthea hesitated. Did she really want to do this?_ Of course, you do! _her thoughts screamed at her,_ What’s there to think about?

_“Um...w-well…”, she said unsure of how to find the right words to say._

_“Please", Shiro repeated bowing his head and pressing his forehead to Amalthea’s hand before kissing it. “I don't want to disrespect you and my father's relationship, but I… Please. Just one night. That's all I'm asking.” After thinking a moment longer, Amalthea finally sighed._

_“Okay", she said. Shiro's head shot up._

_“Really?”, he said trying to hold in his excitement._

_“Yes, but I have a condition”, Amalthea stated._

_“Name it!”, exclaimed Shiro._

_“You have to wait until the night before your father comes back.” Shiro's expression turned from happy to a mixture of disappointment and confusion._

_“Um, okay...why?”, he asked._

_“It'd just be less awkward”, Amalthea replied. “Besides, if it happened tonight there'd be a lot of awkward tension for the rest of the week, and I'd very much like to avoid that.” Shiro looked annoyed again._

_“Gods, does the thought of being with me really embarrass you that much?”, he said as he got back up._

_“Try looking at things from my point of view for a change!”, Amalthea shouted back. “How would you like it if_ you _were with someone you loved and her daughter, that you have feelings for as well mind you, was constantly hitting on you? Can you honestly say that you wouldn't feel the same way I do right now?” Shiro thought about it for a moment._

_“You're right", he finally said. “I'm sorry. I mean, I tried looking at the other girls around here, but...I don't know; there's just something about you. You're hot, you're funny, and you're really fun to be around.”_

_“I'm pretty sure I can name ten girls with that kind of description”, Amalthea said rolling her eyes._

_“Hey, come on", said Shiro taking a hold of her hand again. “Don't sell yourself short. You're a whole different kind of beautiful and you know it!” Amalthea gave a small smile as she blushed. Shiro tilted her chin up to him. “There's that smile", he said. Amalthea moved her head away as she blushed harder._

_“So...have we come to an agreement?”, she asked. Shiro sighed and smiled at her._

_“Yeah. Sure", he said. “After all, I've waited this long. I guess I can wait a few more days.”_

 

“Hey, Shiro!” Having been lost in thought, Shiro’s head shot up to see his friend, Siegbert, smiling down at him.

“Oh. Hey. What’s up?”, said Shiro rubbing the back of his neck.

“Nothing of any importance”, Siegbert said. “You seemed like something was on your mind, so I came over to see if you were alright.”

“Oh. Yeah, heh heh”, laughed Shiro. “I’m alright. Just...lost in thought.”

“I can see that”, said Siegbert. “Anything you want to talk about? I’d be more than happy to listen.”

“Nah, it’s okay”, said Shiro getting up from his spot under a tree near the training grounds.

“Are you sure?”, Siegbert asked once more.

“Yeah, I’m fine!”, Shiro replied cheerfully. “How about we just get back to training, eh?” Siegbert didn’t answer. Confused, Shiro walked over and stood in front of him. “Siegbert? Hey! Siegbert! Yo!”, Shiro shouted waving his hand in front of Siegbert’s face. Siegbert was still unresponsive. “Weird”, Shiro said.

They were just talking a second ago, but now it was like Siegbert was completely ignoring him. Shiro looked around the training grounds. Everyone seemed to be acting normal enough. He decided to see if it wasn’t just his imagination. He walked over to the archery area where Takumi and some of the other archers were getting in some practice. “Hey, Uncle Takumi, have you noticed anything strange that may have just happened?”, Shiro asked. Silence.

“Uncle Takumi! Hey! I’m right here!”, he shouted waving both his arms as he shouted next to Takumi’s ear. Nothing. “Alright, then. Let’s see how you handle this!” Shiro stepped in front of Takumi while he was getting his next arrow ready. Surely he wouldn’t hit his own nephew, right? Suddenly Takumi took aim and fired. “Ah!”, Shiro screamed barely dodging the arrow as it sliced through his clothing. “Uncle Takumi, what the hell?!”

“Nyah ha ha ha ha ha! Ooo, that was fun to watch!”, said a cheerful voice.

“I’ll say”, said another voice similar to the first. Shiro got up from the ground and saw the two Henrys standing nearby watching him. Careful not to step in front of Takumi again, Shiro walked over to them.

“You guys can see me?”, he asked.

“Of course we can!”, said [regular] Henry while his Halloween counterpart laughed. Shiro was more confused than ever at that moment.

“But if you guys can see me, what’s wrong with everyone else?”, he asked.

“Don’t you remember?”, asked Halloween Henry. “You’ve got a big date with Amalthea tonight!” Shiro’s eyes widened. How did they know about that?

“Don’t look so surprised”, said [regular] Henry.

“Yeah”, said Halloween Henry. “We tend to know a good deal about what goes on around here even when others don’t. Even Amalthea doesn’t know about a lot of the things we know that she thinks she keeps from us.” Shiro blushed and lowered his head in embarrassment.

“I see”, he said.

“Aw, don’t worry”, said [regular] Henry.

“Yeah, we’re happy for you!”, said Halloween Henry. Shiro lifted his head.

“Really?”, he asked. The Henrys nodded. “Wow. Uh, thanks”, Shiro said as he rubbed his neck again.

“No problem!”, said Halloween Henry.

“We gave you guys all night and all of tomorrow morning. The spell will end around early afternoon, so have fun!”, said [regular] Henry.

“So what you’re saying is that no one is going to bother us because of the spell, and that why they’re acting like they can’t see me?”, Shiro asked.

“Oh, they’re not acting”, said [regular] Henry. “They’re thoughts about you have simply left their minds.”

“Huh?”, Shiro asked in shock.

“Yeah!”, said Halloween Henry. “Amalthea asks us to do this all the time! Whenever she wants to be left alone, she asks for this distraction spell, and for a certain amount of time, everyone’s mind just goes elsewhere so they don’t bother her.”

“Wow. That’s really cool. Could you do that for me sometime?” The Henrys shook their heads.

“Sorry”, said [regular] Henry. “We only do it for Amalthea unless she says otherwise.”

“Like in this case!”, said the other Henry. “Shouldn’t you be going to her now?”

“Oh, right!”, exclaimed Shiro as his excitement started to return. “I’d better get going. Thanks a lot, you guys!”

“No problem!”, the Henrys said in unison. With a final wave, a dark symbol appeared beneath them and in an instant they disappeared. Once they were gone, Shiro jumped in the air with the loudest whoop he could muster. Then he turned this way and that to see if anyone had looked in his direction. No one paid him any mind. Siegbert even casually walked by him to speak with Takumi, and it was as if Shiro wasn’t even there.

“Awesome!”, Shiro exclaimed. “Amalthea, here I come!” But just as he was about to run off, he suddenly gave himself a quick sniff. “Whoa”, he said in disgust. “Maybe after a quick bath.” And with that, he quickly ran towards the bathhouse.

 

Amalthea paced nervously around her room as she waited for Shiro. She thought that some food and a long hot bath would have calmed her down, but as the evening wore on, things didn’t seem to get any better. Was she really going to go through with this? She hated to admit it, the was a huge part of her eager to find out what else he could do to her after having gotten a taste of it that night by the river. She already loved being dominated by Ryoma when it came to the bedroom, and she could tell Shiro was no different. The way he had he pinned to the ground and then up against that tree…

Amalthea took a deep breath and sighed. Then she sat on the floor and folded her legs underneath her getting into the position of meditation, and begin to slow her breathing while letting her mind fill with calming images. She began to think about Askr. The grassy fields, the white clouds that surrounded the tall towers of the castle, the beautiful gardens full of colorful flowers, and the ponds, rivers, and lakes full of clear, reflective water. Amalthea smiled. Yes, this is just what she needed. Everything was going to be fine. After all, it was only one night.

A sudden knock on the door jolted Amalthea out of her thoughts as she turned her head toward the door. _Here we go_ , she thought. Getting up off the floor she straightened her robe and, as calmly as she could, walked over to the door and opened it. There stood Shiro smiling leaning in the doorway with one arm overhead as he had done when he had held her against the tree and his other hand was on his hip. He must've taken advantage of the Henrys’ spell because he was shirtless and barefoot wearing nothing but long loose pants, so there was no doubt he had walked through the castle like that without giving it a second thought.

“Hey”, he said in a sort of smug tone. Amalthea rolled her eyes and moved aside for him to step into the room. “What?”, Shiro asked as he stepped inside.

“You don't have to be so smug”, Amalthea replied.

“Sorry”, said Shiro. “I'm just really excited...and a little nervous.”

“Yeah…”, said Amalthea. Both were quiet for a time as Shiro walked around Amalthea’s room admiring the colors and patterns of the beautiful linens and fabrics that made up her curtains, bedspread, and carpets.

“This is a really nice room”, he said in awe as he as he stopped at the window which gave an amazing view of the hills, the lake, and mountains beyond.

“Thanks”, Amalthea replied. She was about to say something else, but Shiro stopped her.

“Listen”, he said, “before anything happens, I just wanted to apologize.”

“Apologize for what?”, Amalthea asked puzzled.

“For putting you in this position”, Shiro said sadly. “I had no right to throw myself at you the way I have. And yet…”, Shiro blushed and Amalthea smiled at him. The sight of it made his heart skip a beat.

“It's not entirely your fault", Amalthea said. “I fell for you, too.” Her expression became solemn as she looked down at the floor. Hating to see her this way, again, Shiro walked over to Amalthea and took her in his arms resting his head on top of hers.

“I'm sorry”, he said quietly.

“Please stop apologizing”, said Amalthea. She looked up at him and blushed as she gave him a shy smile. “I...I want this, too.” Shiro smiled.

“Oh, thank the gods!”, he exclaimed happily. And with that, he came down hard pressing his lips to Amalthea’s. Their tongues met instantly as Amalthea threw her arms around Shiro's neck pulling him close. He was a much better kisser than she thought he'd be and she found herself eagerly waiting to see what else he could do. As she moaned lightly against his mouth, she took her hands down from his neck and began to rub them all over his back and pulled away from his embrace just enough to be able to run her hands along his chest and abs, and Shiro loved every minute of it.

Niles had been right. Her kiss was indeed like the sweetest nectar he'd ever tasted. He suddenly felt her thumbs hook into the waistband of his pants and the next thing he knew they were around his around his ankles. After kicking them aside, Shiro followed suit and worked the knot on Amalthea's robe until it, too, was on the floor. Underneath was a sheer white lace nightie. “Whoa!”, he gasped as his eyes grazed up and down her body, “Do you always wear this to bed?” Amalthea smiled shyly and blushed.

“Uh, no”, she replied. “Actually”, she whispered as she blushed even harder, “this outfit never makes it to the bed.” Shiro’s eyes got so wide Amalthea was sure they were about to pop out of his head.

“Well, then!”, he exclaimed, “No need to fix what ain’t broke, right?” With that, he grabbed the hem of the gown’s skirt and lifted it up and over Amalthea’s head throwing it aside before picking her up and kissing her as she wrapped her legs around his waist while he carried her over to the nearby dresser and sat her on top of it. “I’ve been wanting this for so long”, Shiro whispered as he continued to embrace her before starting to kiss her neck. “Remember this?”, he asked as Amalthea let out a satisfying groan. “Remember how much you loved it? Even though you tried to fight me?” Amalthea chuckled.

“You could tell, huh?”, she said.

“Kinda hard to miss the way you cried out”, Shiro replied. Amalthea suddenly gasped as she felt a fistful of her hair being grabbed and her head yanked back.

“Ah! Shiro?”, Amalthea asked.

“I wanna hear you scream again”, Shiro said-his voice getting more gruff. He dipped his head down and began to lightly graze his tongue up her throat before placing hot kisses on it on the way back down. Amalthea’s body was on fire as she began to moan in satisfaction. Shiro stopped what he was doing. “Nothing yet, huh?”, he said. “Well, then, how about this?”

He unwrapped Amalthea’s legs from around him but kept them spread apart as he knelt down putting his face directly in between her legs. Amalthea’s eyes widen at the realization of what was about to happen. Even Ryoma had never done this before! She looked at Shiro who looked back at her with a mischievous grin and then winked at her. And then he began. She smelled of berries, flowers, and plum musk and he couldn't resist drinking in the seductive scent as he thrust out his tongue and began to lick her insides.

In and out his tongue went making occasional circular motions until he felt it become bathed in Amalthea’s wetness. Her moans were much louder now and he could feel her body begin to quiver as the heat between her legs began to warm his face and cheeks. He was so proud of himself. She still wasn't screaming like he wanted her to, but decided to be patient. After all, the night wasn't over yet.

Once he was finished he began to trace kisses up her stomach, in between her breasts-making sure to plant kisses on each one, along her collarbone, her shoulders, and around her neck until he got to her ear to which he gave it a soft bite before whispering, "Get on your knees. It's your turn." Without a word, Amalthea obeyed and slid off of the dresser. With shaky legs, she held onto Shiro's hips as she slowly got down her knees before him and proceeded to remove his fundoshi. Her eyes widened and she let out a small gasp at the sight of Shiro's cock as she removed the undergarment. It was much bigger than she expected-almost as big as his father's. She glanced up at Shiro for a moment and saw that he was grinning down at her knowing she was impressed by what she saw. "Not bad, huh?", he said.

Amalthea blushed but said nothing as she took Shiro's large member in her hand and began to gently run her fingers along the bottom part of it causing Shiro to throw his head back groaning in content. She kept this up until the clear fluid of Shiro's pre-cum started to ooze from the tip before she grasped his cock with her hand and began to stroke it using the clear fluid as a lubricant to stroke it faster while her other hand began to play with his testicles. Shiro groaned in pure ecstasy as he found himself grabbing a hold of Amalthea’s hair to steady himself as he felt his legs begin to quake. It was just so good. SHE was just so good. Still, he knew there was more to it, and he wanted it badly. "A-Amalthea", he finally managed to get out.

Amalthea stopped what she was doing and looked up at him. She knew what he was about to ask and had been trying to prepare herself. Not that'd she'd never given a blowjob before because she had done so to Ryoma plenty of times. She smiled gently at Shiro. "Are you ready?", she asked.

"Yes", Shiro responded still panting. "P-please. Your mouth. Take me in...your mouth." Amalthea nodded and without another word, she held up his cock by its base and began to slide her tongue along the bottom it as she had always done for Ryoma. When she got to the tip she gave it a quick kiss before opening her mouth wide and taking in the first few inches. Shiro cried out in delight as he felt Amalthea’s tongue make circular motions around his cock before she started sucking on it bathing it in her saliva while still playing with his testicles.

"Nngh...oh gods...Amalthea...UHHH!" Shiro was in heaven. Amalthea’s mouth was hot and wet and she took him deeper and deeper into her mouth like a pro. He started to buckle, but Amalthea managed to hold him up by grabbing his buttocks and giving it a few good squeezes as well. Shiro moaned trying to keep himself together.

He didn't want the night to end so soon, but he knew he wouldn't last much longer. "Amalthea", he gasped, "I think I'm gonna...I think I...I...oh gods!" When Amalthea gave a muffled chuckle sending vibrations throughout the entirety of his cock, that was the last straw. With a loud cry, Shiro released into Amalthea’s mouth sending ropes of hot, milky white seed down her throat. At that moment Shiro's legs could no longer hold him up and he crumpled to the floor releasing himself from Amalthea’s mouth with nothing but a long string of her saliva connecting them.

Wanting to make sure he was all right, Amalthea wiped off her mouth and crawled over to where Shiro had fallen where she lay next to him and stroked his hair as he pulled her close to him nuzzling his face against her breasts. Neither of them spoke for a long time until Shiro finally managed to catch his breath enough to shakingly get up off the floor before helping Amalthea up as well. He was so disappointed in himself-cumming like that so soon. Why did she have to be so good? Granted he wasn't nearly as experienced as his father was, but he had still hoped to last longer than that.

 _Oh well_ , he thought. _Tomorrow's another day_. And indeed it would be thanks to the Henrys giving them the extra time. Tomorrow he would be sure to show her the rest of what he had planned for, and this time he would be in complete control. Amalthea, on the other hand, sighed contently as she gave Shiro a loving embrace. She figured he hadn't quite done everything he wanted to, but maybe she'd be willing to give him another chance. After all, this was a rather impressive night-especially now that she had come to terms with her attraction to him.

Lost in their own thoughts, together they walked over to the bed and got beneath the covers. Holding her close, Shiro kissed her forehead before whispering softly to her. “I'm sorry", he said still panting a bit as his heart rate finally began to slow down. “I didn't mean for it to end so soon.” Amalthea smiled warmly as she nuzzled herself against his chest.

“Another time", she said. Shiro smiled back and hugged her tightly happy to know she was on the same page as he was even though it wasn't formally spoken. With a final sigh of relief, they embraced each other once more and kissed a final time before drifting off to sleep keeping their bodies lovingly intertwined.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First and foremost, I sincerely apologize for the hiatus. Aside from some writer's block, school and work have been really kicking my ass lately so I hope this chapter was worth the wait. Secondly, if you didn't see in my last Summoner Support, I started an RP page on Facebook: SummonerAmalthea-FEH OC. Come on over if you want to interact with me, see commissions of Amalthea with various Heroes, or you can stop by to yell at me about finishing up a story.
> 
> Anyway, here is the next chapter!

Amalthea’s eyes fluttered open as the warm rays of the morning sun shined through the window caressing her face. Moaning softly, she turned over to see the other side of the bed was empty. Her eyes widened as she sat up quickly and looked around the room. “Shiro?”, she called out. No answer.

Grabbing her robe, Amalthea got out the bed and looked out the window. She didn’t see him anywhere. _Ugh! Don’t tell me he turned out to be a hit-it-and-quit-it type of guy!_ she thought. _And after everything he put me through just for last night to happen!_ Trying to maintain her composure, Amalthea made her way to the door and opened it just in time to see Jakob coming down the hall with a tray of tea. “Oh, hi, Jakob!”, she said cheerfully. But Jakob walked right by her without so much as a glance in her direction. That was weird. Jakob never ignored her-not even when he was mad!

“Uh, Jakob?”, Amalthea tried again. Nothing. Why would he be ignoring her? She only asked for the spell to last through the night. Unless… Tightening her robe, Amalthea went down the corridor and made her way down to the dungeon to find the Henrys noticing along the way that every Hero she passed by paid her no mind. Even little Fae ran by her on her way to the mess hall without her usual morning jump into Amalthea’s arms. The spell was definitely still working.

Having finally found the door that led downstairs to the dungeon, Amalthea made her way down to, sure enough, find Henry and his Halloween counterpart already working on their spells. “Uh, hey, guys”, she said as she approached them. They turned towards with their usual smiles.

“Good morning, Amalthea!”, said [regular] Henry.

“How was last night?”, asked the other.

“Um, it was fine”, Amalthea said as she blushed. “But I have a question.”

“The spell is still working, isn’t it?”, said [regular] Henry.

“Well, yeah, it appears so”, said Amalthea. “How come? We only agreed on all of last night so that I would be ready by the time Ryoma come home this evening.”

“Which gives you most of the day to… Well, you know!”, said Halloween Henry said with a wink as the other Henry chuckled. Amalthea blushed.

“I see”, she said. The Henrys looked at her in confusion.

“What’s wrong?”, asked [regular] Henry.

“Aren’t you happy?”, asked the other. Amalthea shook her head.

“It’s not that”, she said. “I just wasn’t expecting it is all.” She rubbed her wrist and sighed. “Besides”, she continued, “I don’t think Shiro would be up for it, anyway. He’s run off somewhere.”

“Oh, he’s in the kitchen!”, said [regular] Henry. Amalthea looked up from rubbing her wrist.

“Really?”, she asked.

“Yep!”, said Halloween Henry. “He was making breakfast for you guys when we last saw him. He should still be there.”

“Oh. Thanks. I should go see if he needs any help. I’ll catch you guys later.” She headed back towards the stairs, but stopped for a moment and looked back at them. “And...thanks, again, you guys.”

“No problem!”, said the Henrys cheerfully as they waved her goodbye. And with that, Amalthea ran up the stairs and made her way to the kitchen.

 

Shiro hummed to himself as he went about scrambling eggs for himself and Amalthea something to eat for breakfast. Even though Felicia and Jakob were in the kitchen earlier and not noticing him, he still waited patiently for them to be done before he started on his and Amalthea’s breakfast. He smiled as he thought about the night before. He had done it! Well...almost.

Shiro sighed as he took a few spoonfuls of rice from last night’s dinner and mixed it with the eggs the way he knew Amalthea liked it. He was still a little upset about his poor performance. Why did he let her take over in the first place? Sure, he wanted them to experience each other’s bodies the way he had dreamed in his fantasies, but, obviously, he clearly underestimated her skills. His breathing got a little faster as he felt his loins harden thinking about how she pleasured him...especially with her mouth. Gods, that was best! As his mind drifted deeper into the details of last night’s rendezvous, he was unaware of the footsteps coming up behind him.

“Oh, there you are!”, exclaimed a woman’s voice. Shiro spun around from his cooking to see Amalthea standing there with one hand on her hip and look that was a mixture of relief and annoyance. Shiro smiled at her.

“Well, good morning to you, too, gorgeous!”, he said. Realizing the eggs were still cooking, he turned back around and quickly plated the eggs on two plates before putting cheese on top of them (as he had learned from Amalthea’s cooking) and turning back to Amalthea. “You hungry?”, he asked. Amalthea sighed. There was just no staying angry with this guy. Not with that smile of his, anyway.

“Actually, yeah”, she said taking a plate. “Thank you.”

“Hey, no problem!”, Shiro said. “It’s the least I can do after such an awesome night.” He winked at Amalthea and she blushed as the two of them went over to a nearby table where they sat down and began to eat. “So, how are the eggs?”, Shiro asked.

“To be honest, a little bland”, Amalthea replied. “Could’ve used a little garlic.”

“Aw, man!”, Shiro said in disappointment. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it”, aid Amalthea. “I just wish you would have woken me up, first.”

“Oh”, said Shiro sheepishly. “Sorry about that. I was going to, but...you looked so peaceful sleeping, I didn’t want to disturb you.”

“Oh, really?”, said Amalthea blushing. Ryoma had never told her how she looked sleeping, and in all honesty, she was afraid to ask thinking maybe her mouth hung open, or she drooled or snored.

“Yeah, totally!”, exclaimed Shiro. Both were quiet for a moment. Then Amalthea spoke up.

“I spoke to the Henrys”, she said. Shiro looked at her as she continued. “You knew the spell was going to last longer?”

“You mean, you didn’t?”, asked Shiro in astonishment. Amalthea shook her head.

“No”, she said. “I thought it would only last the night.”

“Oh”, said Shiro. “Are you...disappointed?”

“No, not really”, Amalthea replied.

“Are you sure?”, asked Shiro. “Because before we went to sleep you said-”

“I know, I remember”, Amalthea said. Shiro rubbed the back of his neck.

“So, uh…”, he said. “Do you want to...go again since we have the time? Of course, if don’t want to, I completely understand! I can go find the Henrys and tell them-”

“No, Shiro, it’s fine”, said Amalthea trying to reassure him. She pushed her finished plate aside and nervously put her hand over his. “I’m okay with...going again. After all...you really didn’t get to finish like you wanted to last night, did you.” Shiro turned beet red.

“Um...no, I...I didn’t”, he said. “Sorry about that.” Amalthea shook her head.

“It’s not your fault”, she said. “I, uh...I probably went a little overboard. You know, got a little too caught up in the moment?” Shiro grinned slyly at her.

“That...was amazing”, he said. Amalthea put her hand over her mouth as she blushed so hard that Shiro could see her ears turn red. She started to say something, but Shiro stopped her. “However”, he said, “this time I don’t want you to do anything. Let me do all the work.” Amalthea stared at him.

“Are...are you sure?”, she asked. Shiro nodded.

“Definitely”, he declared. “I said I wanted to hear you scream and dammit, I plan on doing it!” Amalthea could only smile at him as she sat quietly for a moment before nodding her head.

“Very well”, she said quietly. “Shall we be on our way?” Shiro leaped up so fast he almost flipped over the table.

“Hell, yeah!”, he shouted. He grabbed their breakfast dishes and tossed them in the wash bin before running back over to Amalthea, who had gotten up from the table, and pulling her in for a deep kiss before picking her up in his arms. Then he paused for a moment. Amalthea looked at him worried.

“Are you okay?”, she asked. Shiro grinned at her.

“You’re not wearing anything under this robe are you?”, he asked.

“Well, no”, Amalthea replied. “I just threw it on and went to find you when I saw you weren’t in bed when I woke up.”

“Ah”, said Shiro. “That makes sense.” And with that, he quickly made his way up the stairs from the kitchen and back to Amalthea’s room as she held onto his neck praying that he wouldn’t drop her.

 

It was a good thing Amalthea hadn’t fully shut her door because as soon as he reached her room, Shiro kicked the door wide open slamming it against the wall. “Shiro!”, Amalthea shouted at him angrily as they entered the room.

“Whoops! Sorry about that!”, Shiro said with a wide grin as he tossed Amalthea onto the bed before running back to the door and carefully shut it. Thankfully there was no damage done to the wall. Breathing a sigh of relief, Shiro gathered himself before turning back to Amalthea with that sly grin on his face which caused her look of anger to turn into a look of nervousness as he slowly began to walk back towards her with an incredibly sexy swag in his shoulders. Once he reached the head of the bed, he got on the bed, he slowly crawled his way to Amalthea who by this time had crawled backward against the pillows as she felt her breath getting heavier at the sight of Shiro approaching her while never taking his eyes off of hers. Soon he was looking over her on all fours as she lay underneath him. Gently settling himself on her thighs, he removed the thin white shirt he had put on before making them breakfast and tossed it aside. Amalthea let out a small gasp as she gazed upon this young man’s gorgeous upper body-now that she was viewing it in broad daylight.

Wait. Broad daylight? Amalthea glanced over to the open window. “Um, Shiro?”, she said.

“What’s wrong?”, Shiro asked gently his grin now turned into a look of concern.

“Could we, um, shut the window?”, Amalthea asked. “I...don't really like doing this in broad daylight.”

“Why not?”, asked Shiro. It wasn’t like anyone was going to fly by and stare at them with the spell working. Amalthea looked down at herself before crossing her arms over her.

“I’m just...I’m just a little self-conscious, that’s all”, she replied. “I don’t really like looking at myself.”

“But, I don’t understand”, said Shiro. “You’re beautiful.” Amalthea looked sad.

“I guess since I didn’t look like this back in my own world, I’m just having a hard time coming to terms with this new body”, she said. It was true. Back in her world, although she wouldn’t have considered herself overly obese, she wasn’t exactly small, either. In fact, she refused to even buy a full-length mirror just so she could avoid looking at her full body. And when going out, if she did happen by a full-length mirror, she would spend several minutes looking at herself disgusted with how fat she was. But here in this world, patrolling the castle and grounds, alone, had transformed her body in ways she couldn’t have imagined. However, she was still self-conscious about herself and would save sex for nighttime or, if it was daytime, ask Ryoma if they could find a darker place.

Shiro looked over to the window and then back at Amalthea. “Tell you what”, he said softly as he dipped down and kissed her forehead. “You show me all of you, and I’ll shut the window. How does that sound?” Amalthea thought about it for a moment. Then she sighed and nodded her head. Shiro smiled and bent back down placing soft kisses on her neck and along her collarbone as he gently parted the robe down her chest exposing what little he could since she had tightened it before originally leaving her room.

When he got to the knot of the belt, he slowly began to untie it in an almost teasing fashion as Amalthea’s chest began to rise and sink faster as her heart began to race. Once the knot was completely undone Shiro ran his finger down the side of Amalthea’s face, down her neck (causing a soft moan to escape her lips), and slowly along the edges of the robe before flicking half of it over exposing the left half of her body. Then he did the same to her right. Amalthea, breathing heavily now, closed her eyes and turned head away as she tried not to cringe. Shiro frowned. Cupping the side of her face with one hand, he turned her back to face him. “Babe”, he said gently. A small tear ran down Amalthea’s cheek.

“I’m sorry”, she whispered. Shiro wiped away the tear with his thumb and kissed her.

“You’re beautiful”, he said. He got up and slid off the bed then turned around and held out his hand to her. When she took it, he walked her over to a full-length mirror that stood beside the dresser. Because of her self-consciousness, Amalthea always kept it flipped over so that the reflective surface faced the wall except in the event that there was a special event she was to attend and she wanted to make sure her outfit looked decent enough. Then she would turn it back over. Letting go of her hand, Shiro walked over to the mirror and flipped it over. Upon seeing her reflection, Amalthea instinctively covered herself with her robe.

Seeing this, Shiro walked back over to her and then stood behind her and hugged her tight. They stood that way for a moment before Shiro gently took her hands and pulled them down to her sides. Amalthea looked back at him. “What are doing?”, she asked.

“Showing you how beautiful you are”, Shiro replied as he parted her robe again. “I want you to see what I see.” Before Amalthea could say anything else, her robe fell to the floor. Shiro wrapped his arms around her while holding her hands down against her hips so that she could see herself and kissed her on the side of her head. “Go ahead, take a look.” All she could do was quickly glance at her reflection and then turned her head away.

“I can't”, she said. “I-I just can't!”

“Yes, you can”, Shiro said as he began to caress her hands with his thumbs. “Keep trying.” Trying not to shed any more tears, Amalthea took a deep breath and slowly looked back at her reflection. She took notice of her long black hair still a little messy from last night. So that's what a “bed head” looked like. She had never really taken a good look at it before because she usually brushed her hair as soon as she got up. It actually looked kind of hot.

Next, she looked at the unavoidable: her breasts. She had always been the largest of the women in her household growing up and her parents used to give her a hard time over it which made her start dressing in men's clothing. No surprise her parents complained about that, too. At her current age she didn't think too much about them, anymore, but the way Ryoma-and now Shiro-caressed and played with them during sex had started to change her mind about how she took care of them by doing exercises to keep them perky and whenever she had to wear a corset under a gown, she made sure they sat nice and high while remaining tastefully visible. They were nice.

Her legs had always been her favorite parts of her body. They were strong and muscular and it never failed to amaze her at the heavy things she could kick aside or how many times she could lift one of the children in the air when she played “flying bird” with them. Her arms didn't look half bad, either now that those annoying “bat wings” were gone (not that they were bad in the first place, she just now had an easier time getting sleeves to fit properly). Lastly, she took notice of her milk-chocolate brown skin. While occasionally self-conscious about being the only one in the Order with dark skin, she was never ashamed of it and was often told how beautiful and exotic she looked compared to everyone else. Finally letting out a sigh of content, she leaned back against Shiro who was gently rocking them from side to side. He was right; she _was_ beautiful.

“Thank you”, she whispered. Shiro kissed her neck.

“Told you”, he said. “Now, come on. Time to uphold my end of the bargain.”

“Actually”, said Amalthea, “you don't have to close both shutters. I'll meet you halfway.” Shiro smiled.

“Sounds like a plan”, he said as he walked toward to window. Just as he finished closing one of the shutters, he suddenly felt his pants drop to the floor and Amalthea pressing herself against him. Kicking his pants aside so he wouldn't trip on them, he turned around to see Amalthea giving him the same sly smile he had been giving her before. Nothing more needed to be said. In a flash, Shiro picked up Amalthea in his arms and hurled them both onto the bed when he started a kissing frenzy all over her body as she loudly moaned with pleasure.

“Do what you did last night!”, Amalthea panted out.

“Which part?”, Shiro asked as he started suckling on her breast making her cry out louder.

“My...my legs! In between my legs! Do it again!”

“First, tell me you want me”, said Shiro wanting to tease her for a bit.

“Wh-what?”, Amalthea managed to say as Shiro's wet tongue circled her nipple before he began suckling again.

“Tell me you want me”, repeated Shiro. “I want to hear you say it.”

“Oh, gods, Shiro!”, Amalthea moaned as she grabbed the sides of her head. “Do I have to?”

“Yeah”, Shiro replied. “Go on, now. Say it.” Deciding to up the ante, he put two fingers in his mouth wetting them before spreading Amalthea’s legs just enough to insert only the tips of his fingers and wiggled them around a bit enjoying the heat that was starting to build up. Amalthea let a small yelp. “What was that?”, Shiro asked mockingly. “I didn't quite catch that.”

“I...I…”, Amalthea said trying to get the words out which she found to be more difficult than she thought with Shiro's teasing.

“Alright”, Shiro said pretending like he was going to stop. “I guess you donh't want my tongue inside you, then…”

“Goddammit, Shiro, I want you!”, Amalthea finally managed to shout.

“One more time for the ones in back”, Shiro said chuckling.

“I...WANT...YOU!!!!”, Amalthea screamed out. Shiro smiled.

“Good girl”, he said. “And now for your reward…”

 

The hours seemed to go by slowly as Shiro and Amalthea’s bodies melded together in the throes of passion. Shiro did his best to stay focused, but the way Amalthea felt in his arms was more than he could have ever hoped for. Unfortunately, however, he had yet to truly enter her. He was afraid of cumming too soon again, but at the same time, he didn't think he could wait any longer. Time was running out.

Amalthea noticed this easily as she had yet to orgasm, and she was starting to worry. What was he waiting for? “Shiro?”, she finally asked when they took a breather.

“I know”, he replied. “I haven't forgotten.”

“Then what's wrong?”, Amalthea pried on. “You know we don't have a lot of time left. A couple of hours at best.”

“It's just that…”, Shiro's voice trailed off as he looked down seemingly upset. Amalthea took his hand and kissed it. There was something that was bothering her about the situation, but she dared not say it aloud.

“It's alright, Shiro”, she reassured him. “I'm ready when you are.” Shiro looked at her.

“Really? Are you sure?”, he asked. Amalthea smiled as she lay back down and spread her legs for him.

“Do your worst”, she said. With those words, Shiro quickly climbed on top of her and positioned himself.

“You ready for this?”, he asked bravely. With a nod of the head from Amalthea, Shiro took hold of her hips, and with a final kiss on her head, slammed home.

“Oh, god!”, Amalthea cried out as she felt the silken walls of her insides grip onto Shiro's thick cock which immediately began to throb. Shiro, of course, let his own cry.

“Oh, gods! Babe! Holy mother of...Nngh!” She was gripping onto him so tightly, he was afraid that if he moved he would her. But he had no choice. The time was now. Gathering himself, he tightened his grip on her hips and began forcefully gyrating his hips thrusting in and out of her. Amalthea winced in discomfort.

“Ow! Shiro, slow down a bit!”, she exclaimed. Shiro stopped what he was doing.

“I'm sorry!”, he said. “Am I hurting you?”

“Yeah, a little”, Amalthea replied. Figuring that she was probably right about her suspicions, she finally decided to ask.

“Shiro…?”, she asked cautiously, “Is this your first time?” Shiro stared at her with wide eyes for a moment not knowing what to say. Then he sighed and lowered his head.

“Yeah…”, he said quietly. He felt like a fool. Here he was with his dick inside of this beautiful woman trying to come off as an amazing lover...and he failed. Seeing how upset he was, Amalthea reached up and touched his face.

“It's okay, Shiro”, she said gently. Shiro put his hand on top of hers and nuzzled his face into it for a moment before taking a deep breath and facing her again.

“Do you want me to stop?”, he asked. Amalthea shook her head.

“No, you're doing great”, she assured him. “Just slow down a bit, okay?” Shiro's eyes widened with hope.

“You mean it?”, he asked. Amalthea nodded.

“Yeah”, she said. “Keep going.” With newfound energy and determination, a new smile formed across Shiro's face as he readied himself again.

“Alright!”, he exclaimed. “Get ready, babe, cause I'm picking up where I left off at the river!” And with that, he sat her up enough so that he could pull her close and placed his lips on her neck. Amalthea cried out as she tossed her head back. Shiro placed kisses all over her neck, throat, and collarbone all while grinding inside her. Amalthea’s moans got louder and louder as she started saying his name over and over again.

“Oh, god, Shiro! Shiro! Ah!” The pleasure in her voice was undeniable as Shiro's confidence began to increase. As wet as her insides were, the walls still tightened their grip on him causing him to roar with pleasure.

“Gods you're tight!”, Shiro exclaimed. “No wonder Dad screams as loud as he does!”

“You can hear us?”, Amalthea asked as she panted. Shiro slowed down a little to catch his breath.

“On the occasional night patrol, yeah”, he replied. Amalthea blushed.

“I'm sorry”, she said as another moan escaped her lips. Shiro smiled.

“Don't be", he said. “Now that I'm experiencing you for myself, I'm pretty sure I'll be screaming just as loud. Maybe even louder”, he said with a wink. Amalthea rolled her eyes sarcastically.

“You're so full of yourself”, she said through clenched teeth as Shiro began to thrust faster. Shiro gave her a smug grin.

“That's okay. You're about to be full of me, too.” He wasn't lying. By this point, Shiro's cock was pulsing like crazy inside of her and she knew he was only moment's from release. Faster and faster Shiro rocked his hips thrusting in and out as best as he could trying to keep in mind not to hurt her again. This was heaven. He had finally done what he had always dreamed of with the very woman he wanted to do it with. All that left to do was finish the job.

A sudden scream from Amalthea snapped him out of his thoughts as he opened his eyes to see that she had arched her back high off the bed and her legs began to spasm and her body began to shake as he felt his cock become bathed in her wetness as she achieved orgasm. No way he could stop himself now. With a final cry of lust, his floodgates open this time filling her insides instead of her mouth.

“GODS, AMALTHEA!!!!”

“OH, GOD, SHIRO!!!!”

 

Shiro collapsed hard on top of Amalthea after that. For a while, the two of them lay there breathing heavily-tired but satisfied. Then using what little strength he had left, Shiro managed to roll off of Amalthea and the two of them wrapped their arms around each other. Then Shiro kissed her forehead and started nuzzling her neck. “I love you”, he whispered. Amalthea laughed softly.

“I love you, too, Shiro”, she returned.

“But not as much as my father, right? Or in the same way?” Amalthea was quiet. Shiro smirked. “That's okay, I'm not worried about it. It's my arms you're in, not his. And right now, that's all that matters.”

“Is that a fact?”, said a familiar deep voice. Amalthea gasped and Shiro shot up and looked across the room in complete horror. There stood Ryoma standing in the doorway leaning against the wall with his arms crossed and his eyes narrowed.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you all!

_ The battle was short, but fierce. Ryoma and and his comrades were preparing to head back to Askr when soldiers from Mùspell suddenly appeared through the gates. They came in droves, but the Heroes were ready. The minutes went by quickly as the Heroes fought off their attackers, and Ryoma, alone, finished off most of them. Finally, the battle was over...or so he thought. Just as he turned back to regroup with his comrades, a supposedly fallen mage shot a final blast of magic that went right through Ryoma’s heart killing him instantly. _

_ When the light came back to his eyes, Ryoma looked around to find himself back in the grand hall of the Askran castle. He sighed. “How humiliating. Being caught off guard like that”, he muttered to himself. “Thank the gods for Amalthea’s Summoner magic.” Speaking of which, he was kind glad to be back so early. Surely Amalthea would be happy to see him. He wondered where she was. _

_ “Brother, you’re back!” Ryoma was brought out of his thoughts as he looked to see Takumi running towards him. He gave his younger brother a small smile. _

_ “Good to see you, Takumi”, he said. “How goes things here at the palace?” _

_ “It’s been pretty quiet”, Takumi said. “Nothing much to do but train.” Then Takumi noticed something strange. “Where’s everyone else?”, he asked. Ryoma frowned. _

_ “Unfortunately, I fell in battle”, he admitted. “We were preparing to return when we were attacked.” Takumi sadly looked down. _

_ “I’m sorry to hear that”, he said. Ryoma put a hand on Takumi’s shoulder. _

_“Do not trouble yourself”, he said. “All it means is that I must train harder.” Takumi looked up at his older brother._

_“You’re right”, he said. “These are enemies like which we have never faced before. I’m sure things will turn out much better on your next patrol. Ryoma nodded._

_“Precisely”, he agreed. “Now, speaking of patrols, have you seen Amalthea anywhere? I know she was not expecting me so soon, but I would like to greet her.” Takumi gave him a puzzled look._

_“Who?”, he asked. Ryoma stared at him confused._

_“Amalthea. Our Summoner. Do you know where she is?” Takumi shrugged._

_“I’m not sure I know what you’re talking about”, he said. “Maybe you should rest for a while. Do you need help getting to your room?” Ryoma was about to say something else but stopped himself._

_“You are right, Takumi”, he said. Perhaps I should lie down for a while. Do not worry about me. I will get to my room just fine.”_

_“Are you sure?”, Takumi asked. Ryoma nodded._

_“Yes, I am sure”, he assured his younger brother. “Go back to your training, now. Perhaps we will spare later.” Takumi shrugged._

_“If you say so, brother. I’ll see you later, okay?” And with that, Takumi headed back to the training grounds. Ryoma sighed as he watched his brother leave. Amalthea must've been using that distraction spell, again, if Takumi had no clue as to who she was._ What could she be up to, now? _he thought to himself. Shaking his head, Ryoma headed towards the stairs the led up to the room he and Amalthea shared._

 

_As he reached the top of the stairs at the end of the corridor that led to his and Amalthea’s bedchamber, Ryoma thought he heard the sound of a woman moaning. He paused and cocked his head to listen. There it was, again-this time from a man. As Ryoma cautiously made his way towards the sounds, the sudden screams of passion filled the corridor._

“ _GODS, AMALTHEA!!!!”_

_“OH, GOD, SHIRO!!!!”_

_Shocked by what he heard, Ryoma raced down the hall ready to burst into the room. However, once he reached the door, he paused._ No _, he thought to himself._ This is not the way to approach. _Carefully placing his hand on the doorknob, Ryoma gave it a small turn and found the door was unlocked. Taking a deep breath, as silently as he could, Ryoma slowly opened the door. “I love you”, he heard his son whisper as he entered the room._

  


Shiro sighed as he picked up a small rock and threw it across the lake. It skipped eight times before it sank beneath the surface. _I'm losing my touch_ , he thought as he walked along the shore before finding a large boulder to sit on. It was a nice spot to sit as he watched the sun start to set on another day of gate patrol. He sighed heavily again.

It had been weeks since his father had caught him and Amalthea in bed together. When he saw his father standing in the doorway that day, the only thing that came to mind was to run. Before anyone could say a word, Shiro leaped out of the bed, pushed past his father, and ran away as fast as could, stark naked, back to his room. Thankfully, the spell wore off just in time for him to make it back to his room before anyone could see him. After slamming the door behind him, all he could do was sink to the floor. There he sat like that for hours contemplating what to do next. There was no way he could show his face around the castle now that his father was back.

And so, here he was on gate patrol. Forget the rotations. He was staying away from Askr for as long as he possibly could. During his time away, a few new Heroes had been summoned including his friends from the Deep Realms, Ophelia and Nina. The Tempest Trials had also come and gone and there were a few missions in which Amalthea called him back for his assistance, but even then he did his best to avoid any form of eye contact and only spoke to her when acknowledging a command. Then as soon as the mission was done, he was quick to return back to the gates after restocking any supplies he needed.

Shiro sighed again and buried his face in his hands. So this is how Amalthea felt after that mishap by the river. He knew she was worried about him and wanted to talk, but now he was the one avoiding her. And there was no way in hell he would be able to face his father. How could he after such a betrayal? And the worst part was that he had dragged Amalthea poor down with him. All because he couldn't control his stupid horny thoughts.

 _Oh, no, Amalthea!_ , he thought. Was his father angry with her, too? She seemed alright the few times he'd seen her since, but who knows what happened once she and his father were alone again. Shiro smacked his head in hands repeatedly. “Dammit!”, he shouted.

“Geez, what's with you?”, asked a female voice. Shiro looked up to find his friend, Nina standing before him with a hand on her hip and her head cocked to the side in confusion.

“Oh...hey, Nina”, Shiro said.

“Hey, yourself”, Nina returned. She walked over and sat next to him. “Sooo…”, she started. “You gonna tell me what's going on or what?” Shiro hung his head again.

“I don't think I should”, he said. Nina nudged him.

“Oh, come on!”, she exclaimed. “You can tell your old friend, Nina! Besides, I practically just got summoned here. We need to catch up!”

“It's not that simple”, Shiro said. “Something...something kinda bad went down.” Nina's eyes widened.

“Okay, now you HAVE to tell me!”, she exclaimed as she grabbed his arm and started shaking him. Shiro tried to pull away.

“Come on, Nina, cut it out! This isn't the time for jokes!”

“Who's joking?”, Nina fired back. “I wanna know! I won't stop until you tell me!” Shiro rolled his eyes and sighed.

“Okay, fine!”, he said as he shrugged Nina off of him. “But don't go around telling everyone, okay? Nina saluted him with two fingers at her head.

“Scout's honor!”, she said. Shiro then recounted all the events from the previous weeks. He told her about the fishing incident, the dinner thereafter, the proposal he made, and finally the intimate time he spent with Amalthea only to get caught by his father.

“So now you understand why I've been out here so long”, Shiro said. “There's just no way I can-”

 _Scribble scribble scribble…!!!_ Shiro turned toward Nina and saw that she writing furiously in a small notebook. _Oh, great_ , Shiro thought. He'd forgotten about Nina's obsession with writing stories about potential couples. “Seriously?”, he asked. “You have to do that here?”

“How can I not?!”, Nina exclaimed as she continued to write. “A summoner from another world who summons Heroes from other worlds, falls in love with one them, and then that Hero’s own son falls for her, too? AND with mutual feelings from her? This is my best story yet!”

“Except it's not a story!”, Shiro said. “This is my life, right now!”

“Even better!”, exclaimed Nina happily. “Scandalous love triangles are the best!”  Shiro rolled his eyes again.

“Geez, you're just like your dad”, he said. “The only difference is you're not in my face threatening to make out with me…oops!” Shiro covered his mouth praying that Nina hadn't heard that last part. Too late. Nina's eyes widened and her jaw almost hit the ground as she stared at Shiro for a few moments. Then she flipped a few pages in her notebook and began furiously writing again making goofy faces and murmuring to herself as she continued to write. Shiro sighed and shook his head.

Suddenly, there came a small shout from above and both Shiro and Nina looked up to see a small white owl fluttering down towards them. It was Feh, the messenger owl and information seeker for the Order of Heroes.

“Hellooo, Shiro!”, she said cheerfully as she hovered before him. “I have a very important letter for you!”

“Huh? For me?”, Shiro asked surprised as he took the scrolled letter from her talons. “Who's it from?”

“Your father, Prince Ryoma!”, replied Feh. “He said it was urgent and that you should read it right away!” The blood drained from Shiro's face as he clutched the letter in his hand.

“M-my father?”, he said.

“Ooooo! This just gets better and better!”, Nina exclaimed as she started writing again. Feh looked at Shiro concerned.

“Are you alright?”, she asked. Shiro shook his head and gathered his composure.

“Y-yeah. I'm alright”, he assured her. Taking a deep breath, he unrolled the scroll and read what it said.

 

_Shiro,_

_It is of the utmost importance that you return to Askr right away. Please do not keep me waiting._

_Your father,_

_Ryoma_

 

Short and to the point. It sounded like something his father would say. But what did he want? As if he had to ask. He knew at some point he would have to face his father and repent for his betrayal. It was only fair. Not only to his father but to Amalthea as well.

Shiro sighed. Yes. That is exactly what he needed to do. If for any reason but for Amalthea's sake. He had been hiding long enough and it was time to man up. After all, he was going to be a king one day, and what kind of king hides from conflict?

Shiro looked up and reached his hand up to Feh, who at this point had perched herself on top of his head and just sat quietly waiting for Shiro's response. Feh cooed as Shiro ruffled her feathers a little.

“Shirooo!”, she cried happily. “Sooo…?” Shiro smiled.

“Tell my father I'm on my way!”, he said hopping down from the boulder he was sitting on. Nina, who was writing in her notebook again, looked up from what she was doing.

“You're heading back?”, she asked hopping off the boulder as well.

“Yeah”, replied Shiro. “I've run away from this for too long. I need to face my father.” Nina closed her notebook.

“Well, good luck to you”, she said. “Given how long you've been away, maybe he's cooled down a bit.”

“Heh, yeah”, Shiro said as he picked up the bag he'd been carrying with him. Feh then hopped off of Shiro's head and began to fly away.

“Okay! See you back in Askr!”, she called out. Shiro waved her goodbye before turning back to Nina.

“Hey, uh… Thanks for hearing me out”, he said. “It felt good to finally talk to someone. You swear not to tell anyone?”

“Don't you worry!”, Nina assured him. “This secret stays between you, me, and my trusty little notebook!” Shiro smiled as he shook his head.

“Yeah, well, just make sure no one ever reads that thing”, he said as he walked back to the gate. The two friends waved each other goodbye and after Shiro was gone, Nina climbed back onto the boulder, opened up her notebook, and began writing again with what little light was left of the day.

 

Despite his determination to face his father, the closer Shiro got to the castle, the slower his footsteps became until he had no choice but sit down in the grand hall from his legs having buckled beneath him. He was more nervous than he thought. What exactly was he going to say, anyway? That he wanted his father to break up with Amalthea so be can have her to himself? It was one thing when he told Amalthea the same thing, but his father...that guy was intimidating as hell. No wonder he was so well respected among their peers and comrades. He was a true leader and someone whose good side it was best to stay one.

And he had committed one of the worst betrayals. He, Ryoma's own son, had thrown himself at and bedded his father's lover. It was a wonder his father hadn't called him out and exacted punishment that very day. Shiro shook his head. He had to stop feeling sorry for himself. He messed up big time and it was time to face the music. Getting up off the floor, Shiro dusted himself off and went to search for his father.

 

After asking around for a while, Shiro found out that his father was in the room he and Amalthea shared. _Great_ , Shiro thought. That was the last beyond last place he wanted to see his father. But, what choice did he have? He was in no position to negotiate a place to talk. After making his way there, Shiro found himself pacing the floors feverishly gathering up the courage to knock on the door. His heart was racing like a horse.

 _Oh gods, oh gods, oh gods,_ he thought. He wanted to run so badly, that he almost did several times. _Come on, Shiro, you can do this!_ his thoughts screamed in his head. He finally stopped pacing and stood at the door for a few moments before taking several deep breaths. Then gathering up all the courage he could stir up inside of him, he reached up to knock on the door…

“Come in, Shiro”, came Ryoma's voice before Shiro's fist could hit the door. Surprised his father knew of his presence, Shiro gulped big before slowly opening the door to find his father kneeling on the far end of the room in front of the window supposedly meditating. “Close the door, Shiro”, Ryoma said without looking in Shiro's direction. Shiro gulped again carefully shut the door behind him. His heart was, once again, racing and his body started to shake as he stood there waiting for what his father would say next. He was expecting some sort of anger, but this calmness-this silence-was even more terrifying! Not knowing what more he could do and the fact that his legs were now like earthquakes, all Shiro could do was sink down into a kneeling position and bowed as low to the ground as he could trying to show some form of respect of being in his father’s presence.

Ryoma then opened his eyes and turned in the direction towards his son. He smiled slightly and got up-dusting himself off in the process. Then he walked over to Shiro and kneeled in front of him. He tapped his son on his back and waited as Shiro sat back up still looking incredibly nervous. For several moments, the two of sat there locking eyes, but saying nothing. Finally, Ryoma started to say something, but Shiro interrupted him by quickly bowing back down.

“Father!”, he cried out practically sobbing. “Please! Please forgive me! I know I don't deserve it, but I'm begging you! I'm sorry, Father! I'm so sorry! I had no right to do what I did! I've betrayed your trust and disrespected the sanctity of your relationship with Amalthea! I will accept whatever punishment you give me, but please...please forgive me!

Ryoma sat there staring at his son remaining quiet; his face seeming emotionless. He closed his eyes and sighed. “Arise, Shiro”, was all he said. Still shaking like a leaf, Shiro slowly sat back up and Ryoma could see his son's eyes red with tears. He sighed. He hadn't planned on this happening. Shiro was usually cheerful, loud, and boisterous, but now… He supposed he couldn't blame him.

“I suppose by this reaction of yours, you understand the reason I summoned you”, Ryoma said to his son. Shiro kept his head lowered, but nodded nonetheless.

“I-I'm so sorry, Father”, Shiro said. “I messed up big time.” Ryoma placed a hand on his son's shoulder and smiled slightly.

“Actually”, he said, “I wanted to thank you.” Shiro's head snapped up.

“What?”, he asked.

“I said I wanted to thank you, Shiro”, Ryoma said again. Shiro wiped his eyes.

“I-I don't understand”, he said. Ryoma sighed.

“I suppose it is time that you knew the truth, my son”, he said. Getting back up, Ryoma slowly made his way back to the window and there silently for a moment as Shiro watched.

“Father?”, he said with caution. Ryoma took a deep breath and turned back to his son.

“Shiro”, he said, “I have known the whole time.” Shiro's eyes widened.

“Um...about what, Father?”, he asked feigning ignorance just to be sure he had heard his father correctly. Ryoma narrowed his eyes but decided to play along.

“Come, now, Shiro”, he said with a slight smirk. “Did you honestly think you were the only other man who wants Amalthea in his bed? The only difference between them and you is that none of them have tried to go behind my back so arrogantly.” Shiro dropped his head as his face became almost as red as his clothing.

“You mean...you know about the fishing incident?”, Shiro asked quietly. Amalthea promised she wouldn't tell! How could she betray him like that? As if he was one to talk. He heard his father chuckle.

“Oh, I have known long since before that”, Ryoma said. Shiro lifted his head again.

“How long?”, he asked.

“Not long after Amalthea summoned you”, Ryoma answered. He crossed his arms and looked down at his son. “You see, Shiro”, he began, “when Amalthea and I were first getting to know each other, she had a very difficult time trusting me because of how her feelings and emotions were betrayed in her past.” Shiro nodded his head and sat up straight to pay his father appropriate attention as Ryoma continued. “Our relationship definitely grew stronger over the months thereafter, but after she summoned you, I noticed a change in her attitude whenever you were around. I did not think much of it, at first, but then I noticed you were starting to act the same way whenever she was around you. It took some time, but Amalthea finally came clean and told me the truth about her feelings for you.” Shiro lowered his head with his mouth agape in surprise.

Why hadn't she told him any of this? Was this some kind of game? Then Shiro remembered what he had originally asked. “Father”, he said looking back up, “what was it you wanted to thank me for?” A small smile came across Ryoma's face.

“Ah, yes”, he said. “I wanted to thank you for bringing Amalthea out if her shell.” Shiro looked at his father confused.

“Out of her shell?”, he asked. Ryoma nodded.

“Yes”, he said. “I am sure you noticed during your...little rendezvous...that Amalthea is quite shy when she is not under the covers or in darkness, am I correct?” Shiro gulped but nodded. “Well”, Ryoma continued, “I am not sure what you did, exactly, but it would seem her confidence has grown immensely. She still prefers to be under the covers on occasion, but other than that she is more than alright with the windows open during the day and she no longer has that mirror flipped over.” He nodded over to the side of the room and Shiro turned to see the mirror he and Amalthea had stood in front of when he convinced her to look at herself was flipped over to its reflective side.

“Oh...wow”, was all he could say. Ryoma chuckled a bit.

“Yes, my son”, he said. “It is thanks to you that Amalthea and I have become more...active so to speak. Plus, I thought you deserved to know the truth behind Amalthea’s feelings towards you.” Shiro sat there quiet for a moment lost in thought as his father watched him. Then he looked up and looked at his father square in the eye.

“Father”, he asked as seriously as he could, “does this mean it was all a joke? Were you and Amalthea toying with me this whole time? Does she not really feel anything for me?” Ryoma narrowed his eyes and Shiro did his best not to look away in intimidation. Then Ryoma shook his head and smiled.

“Fear not, Shiro”, he answered. “I can assure you her feelings for you are very real. In fact…”, his voice trailed off as he began to rub the back of his neck as if he was unsure how to continue. Shiro cocked his head.

“In fact...what?”, he asked. Ryoma blushed.

“Well”, he said, “Amalthea and I have been talking since this whole thing started and we were wondering if-” Just then the door to the bedroom opened and Amalthea walked through while talking to someone in the corridor.

“Okay, thanks for letting me know. I’ll take care of it as soon as possible!” After closing the door she turned around to see Ryoma and Shiro staring at her and stopped dead in her tracks.

“Oh…”, she said after seeing Ryoma’s somewhat bashful expression. “So…”, she said cautiously to Ryoma after glancing in Shiro’s direction, “Did you ask him?”


End file.
